With demand for AI memory reshaping global chip supply chains, SK Hynix held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday for its first U.S. manufacturing facility, a $4 billion advanced packaging plant in Indiana set to begin volume production in 2029.
The South Korean memory maker will use the site to package high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the stacked chips that feed data-hungry AI accelerators. Chief Executive Kwak Noh-Jung told attendees the plant would become a key memory production base for the company by 2030, anchoring its manufacturing presence in the United States.
Advanced packaging is the step where individual memory dies are bonded, stacked and connected before they reach customers building AI servers. Locating that work in Indiana places SK Hynix closer to major American buyers and to research partners as competition over HBM supply intensifies among the world’s leading memory producers.
The Indiana investment builds on a run of strong results driven by AI orders. The company has repeatedly reported record profits tied to memory demand, giving it the capital to expand manufacturing beyond its established bases in South Korea.
For the region, the facility represents a fresh manufacturing employer and a supplier tied to the fast-growing AI hardware sector. Advanced packaging plants typically require skilled technicians and engineers, and the site is expected to draw a specialized workforce over the years leading up to full production.
SK Hynix joins a widening group of chipmakers committing to U.S. soil as governments push for domestic semiconductor capacity. Rivals including Samsung and Micron have announced their own American and Asian expansions, part of a broader race to secure memory supply for artificial intelligence systems.
Behind the numbers, the timeline is deliberate. With construction now underway and volume output targeted for 2029, SK Hynix is planning years ahead of demand it expects to keep climbing as data centers scale up. The company will spend the coming period equipping the plant and building the local supplier and talent network needed to reach its 2030 goals.