on July 6, 2026
SK hynix has introduced plans to take a position KRW 100 trillion (about US$65 billion on the present trade charge) in Cheongju, South Korea, to develop its NAND flash manufacturing and superior packaging capability to satisfy rising AI-driven reminiscence demand. The announcement was made by President and CEO Kwak Noh-Jung in the course of the Nationwide Briefing on the Technique for Fostering Subsequent-Era Superior Industries within the Chungcheong Area, held at Samsung Show’s Asan Campus.
The funding consists of roughly KRW 80 trillion (~$52 billion) for the M17 NAND fabrication facility and KRW 20 trillion (~$13 billion) for the P&T7 superior packaging facility and its associated infrastructure. P&T7 is anticipated to be accomplished by the tip of 2027, whereas development of the M17 fab is scheduled to start in 2027, with operations focused to start within the first half of 2029.
Based on SK hynix, the accelerating adoption of AI providers continues to drive demand for enterprise SSDs, NAND flash reminiscence, HBM, and server DRAM. The corporate additionally expects rising agentic and bodily AI workloads to additional enhance demand for NAND-based storage.
The corporate mentioned that increasing manufacturing capability has turn out to be more and more vital as NAND demand continues to outpace provide. CEO Kwak mentioned Cheongju was chosen as a result of the positioning already has the land, electrical infrastructure, and water assets wanted to allow fast fab development. The situation additionally permits manufacturing efficiencies by integrating with SK hynix’s present operations in Cheongju.
Past semiconductor manufacturing, SK Group outlined broader AI infrastructure plans for South Korea. The group plans to section in a complete of 15 GW of AI information middle capability nationwide, starting with an preliminary 5 GW. As a part of that initiative, a 1 GW AI information middle is deliberate for the Chungcheong area to assist an ecosystem integrating semiconductor manufacturing with AI computing infrastructure.
SK hynix mentioned the investments are supposed to bolster Cheongju as one of many firm’s major semiconductor manufacturing hubs and to strengthen South Korea’s place in reminiscence know-how and AI infrastructure. The corporate highlighted its present presence within the area throughout NAND, HBM, and superior packaging, positioning the brand new investments as the following section of its long-term enlargement technique.
Harold Fritts
I’ve been within the tech business since IBM created Selectric. My background, although, is writing. So I made a decision to get out of the pre-sales biz and return to my roots, doing a little bit of writing however nonetheless being concerned in know-how.
