SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (OTC:SSNLF), and global rivals, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) and Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), are accelerating investments as competition intensifies to supply high-bandwidth memory and advanced chips for the artificial intelligence boom.
SK Hynix Commits $13 Billion To Expand AI Memory Capacity
SK Hynix is ramping up investment to strengthen its position in the global AI chip supply chain as demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) continues to surge.
The South Korean memory giant, the world’s top supplier of HBM to Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), said it will invest 19 trillion won (about $13 billion) to build a new advanced semiconductor packaging and testing facility, known as P&T7, in the Cheongju Techno Polis industrial complex.
Construction will begin in April, with completion likely by 2027 and full operations expected in 2028, the Korea Economic Daily reported on Tuesday.
The plant will focus on advanced packaging, the back-end process that combines multiple memory chips into high-density units that improve performance and energy efficiency for AI workloads.
Rising Competition in the High-Bandwidth Memory Market
The investment comes as competition heats up across the AI memory market.
Samsung has also announced plans to ramp up HBM output. It has hiked prices on key memory chips by up to 60% since September.
Taiwan-based rivals, including Taiwan Semiconductor and U.S. firms such as Micron, are racing to secure capacity.
HBM demand is accelerating as AI and generative AI workloads require faster and more power-efficient memory to handle massive data volumes.
HBM plays a critical role in training large language models and powering AI accelerators used by Nvidia, Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD).
SK Hynix leads the global HBM market with a 53% share in the third quarter of 2025, while Samsung followed with 35% and Micron held 11%, according to Counterpoint Research.
Industry projections cited by SK Hynix forecast the global HBM market will grow at a 33% compound annual rate from 2025 to 2030.
Memory Pricing Tightens Amid Supply Constraints
Pricing has also tightened. TrendForce said it expects average DRAM prices, including HBM, to rise 50% to 55% this quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, as AI-driven demand increases and conventional memory supply tightens, CNBC reported on Tuesday.
SK Hynix said the P&T7 plant will be responsible for the final assembly and quality inspection of chips manufactured at its front-end fabrication facilities, transforming silicon dies into finished products through advanced packaging processes.
The site will be located next to M15X, the company’s next-generation DRAM manufacturing facility in Cheongju, which is currently being built under a separate investment of 20 trillion won.
Once both facilities are operational, DRAM wafers produced at M15X will be packaged into high-bandwidth memory products on-site, enabling a more vertically integrated manufacturing workflow.
Following the launch of P&T7, SK Hynix will run three major advanced packaging centers worldwide, located in Icheon near Seoul, Cheongju, and West Lafayette, Indiana.
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