SK Hynix
SK Hynix is a South Korean semiconductor company founded in 1983 as Hyundai Electronics Industries by Chung Ju-yung. The company manufactures DRAM and NAND flash memory chips, and is one of the world's leading memory manufacturers. After integration into the SK Group in 2012, the company became a pioneer in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI applications.
Events
Hyundai Electronics Founded
Chung Ju-yung, founder of Hyundai Group, established Hyundai Electronics Industries as Hyundai's entry into the semiconductor industry. The company began with a focus on memory chips and industrial electronics, breaking ground on its first semiconductor plant in Icheon.
Acquisition of Maxtor
Hyundai Electronics acquired Maxtor, a U.S.-based hard disk drive manufacturer, expanding its data storage business beyond semiconductors.
Location: South Korea
Merger with LG Semicon
Following the Asian financial crisis, Hyundai acquired LG Semiconductor (LG Semicon) in a government-prompted merger worth approximately $2.1 billion. The merger combined South Korea's second and third largest memory producers, instantly boosting Hyundai's scale to compete globally against Samsung and Micron.
Location: South Korea
Rebranding to Hynix Semiconductor
After a collapse in memory chip prices and massive losses, the company undertook drastic restructuring: spinning off non-memory businesses (LCDs, consumer electronics, telecom) and renaming itself Hynix Semiconductor, a portmanteau of 'Hyundai' and 'Electronics,' signaling a fresh start focused on core memory operations.
Location: South Korea
Independence from Hyundai Group
Hynix was formally separated from the Hyundai Group as the founding family relinquished control. Creditor banks took ownership stakes due to debt restructurings, and Hynix emerged as an independent entity, albeit seeking a stable long-term owner.
Location: South Korea
Acquisition by SK Telecom
SK Telecom acquired a 21% stake and management control of Hynix for approximately $3 billion, bringing the company under the SK Group umbrella. The company was renamed SK Hynix Inc., ending years of ownership uncertainty and providing capital for advanced technology investment.
Location: Seoul, South Korea
World's First LPDDR4 Mobile DRAM
SK Hynix developed the world's first Low-Power DDR4 (LPDDR4) mobile DRAM in 20nm-class, becoming a leader in mobile memory technology critical for next-generation smartphones.
Location: Icheon, South Korea
M14 Fab Opens in Icheon
SK Hynix opened its M14 fabrication plant in Icheon, a major investment in advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity to meet growing global memory demand.
Location: Icheon, South Korea
First GDDR6 Graphics DRAM
SK Hynix introduced the industry's first GDDR6 (Graphics DDR) 8 Gb DRAM, which became the standard memory for modern GPUs and high-performance graphics applications.
Location: Icheon, South Korea
Industry-First DDR5 DRAM Launch
SK Hynix launched the industry's first DDR5 DRAM modules, ahead of competitors, highlighting its technological edge in next-generation memory for data centers and high-performance computing.
Location: Icheon, South Korea
Intel NAND Business Acquisition
SK Hynix announced a $9 billion deal to acquire Intel's entire NAND flash memory and SSD business, including Intel's Dalian fab. The acquisition was completed in phases through late 2022, resulting in the creation of Solidigm as a U.S.-based SK Hynix subsidiary and significantly expanding SK Hynix's NAND market share.
Location: Seoul, South Korea
EUV DRAM Mass Production Begins
SK Hynix began mass production of fourth-generation 10nm-class DRAM using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, among the first in the industry to adopt the advanced process for memory manufacturing.
Location: Icheon, South Korea
World's First HBM3 Mass Production
SK Hynix began volume production of HBM3, the world's first third-generation high-bandwidth memory, and started shipping it for NVIDIA's flagship AI GPUs. This established SK Hynix as the leader in HBM for AI and high-performance computing.
Location: Icheon, South Korea
First to Mass Produce 12-Layer HBM3E
SK Hynix became the first in the industry to begin mass production of 12-layer HBM3E chips (36 GB per stack), meeting surging demand from AI accelerators. The company also demonstrated a 321-layer 3D NAND, the world's highest layer count at the time.
Location: Icheon, South Korea
SK Hynix Overtakes Samsung to Become South Korea Most Valuable Company
SK Hynix surpassed Samsung Electronics to become South Korea most valuable publicly traded company by market capitalization, ending Samsung 27-year reign as the country top stock. The milestone was driven by SK Hynix dominant position in High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips used for AI accelerators, with the company holding over 60% of the global HBM market. The event marked a historic shift in South Korea corporate hierarchy, reflecting the AI boom transformation of the memory chip industry.
Nasdaq IPO
SK Hynix listed on Nasdaq in the largest foreign company U.S. IPO on record, reflecting the strategic importance of its memory technology to the global AI infrastructure supply chain and investor confidence in its HBM leadership.
Location: New York, USA
SK Hynix Signs USD 750 Billion HBM Supply Partnership with Nvidia Through 2030
SK Hynix secured a long-term high-bandwidth memory supply commitment valued at approximately USD 750 billion with U.S. customers, led by Nvidia, as part of USD 950 billion in combined South Korean AI chip supply agreements announced at a presidential summit in San Francisco. The deal covers HBM4 memory supply for Nvidia's Vera Rubin-generation AI accelerators, with first AI data center deployment targeted for 2027. SK Hynix also committed to building a 2GW AI data center powered by HBM4, cementing its leadership position in the HBM market through the end of the decade.
SK Hynix Approves USD 38.1 Billion Expansion With Two New AI Memory Fabs
SK Hynix announced it will invest 54 trillion won (USD 38.1 billion) to build two new memory chip manufacturing plants in South Korea, one for DRAM high-bandwidth memory and one for NAND flash, roughly doubling production capacity to ease a global AI-driven memory shortage. The buildout is tied to demand from Nvidia, the chipmaker's largest HBM customer, cementing SK Hynix's dominance in AI memory shortly after its Nasdaq IPO. The company framed the bet on AI as a structural transformation rather than a cyclical boom.
SK Hynix Breaks Ground on USD 4 Billion Indiana HBM Packaging Plant, Its First US Facility
SK Hynix held a groundbreaking ceremony for its first US production facility, a more than USD 4 billion HBM advanced packaging plant in Indiana scheduled to begin mass production in 2029. CEO Kwak Noh-Jung said Indiana would become a key memory production base by 2030, anchoring the company's expansion of US-based AI memory supply. The move follows SK Hynix's rise to become South Korea's most valuable company on AI memory demand.