김한주
| 2026-08-28 09:06:14
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By Song Sang-ho and Hong Jeong-kyu
WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana/WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korean chipmaker SK hynix on Thursday held a groundbreaking ceremony for an advanced packaging production facility for artificial intelligence (AI) memory in Indiana, aiming to produce hundreds of thousands of wafers annually there.
The ceremony took place at Purdue University in West Lafayette, as the tech giant is forging ahead with plans to establish its first next-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) production hub in the United States, with a total investment estimated at over US$4 billion. HBM is a critical component of advanced chips that power AI.
In the Indiana fab, SK hynix plans to open its cleanroom by October 2028 and begin mass production of next-generation HBM in the second half of 2029. The company projects that the fab will become a key HBM production base in the U.S. by 2030, with about 1,000 personnel during its expected commercial operations.
The chipmaker also plans to build an "advanced packaging research and development testbed" alongside the production lines, enabling customers, universities and business partners to work together to develop packaging technologies and execute prototype fabrication and performance validation.
It pointed out that cutting-edge wafers produced by SK hynix in South Korea will be delivered to Indiana, where they will undergo advanced packaging and testing before "made-in-U.S.A." products are supplied to American big-tech companies like Nvidia.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by senior Korean and U.S. officials and politicians, and top SK officials, including Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Kang Kyung-wha, Indiana Governor Mike Braun, U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-IN), SK Group Vice Chairman Yu Jeong-Joon, Vice Chairman Lee Hyung-hee and SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung.
"Today is not just the start of a construction project. Today, SK hynix begins building a new future for AI in the United States," Kwak said in his speech.
He noted that in the third quarter of 2029, the company plans to start volume production of its next-generation HBM4E chips.
"We expect to reach an annual capacity of hundreds of thousands of wafers," he said. "We will provide our customers with a new source of made-in-U.S. HBM while strengthening the U.S. semiconductor supply chain and contributing to national and economic security."
SK hynix's latest HBM product is the sixth-generation HBM4, which stacks 12 DRAM chips and is used in Nvidia Corp.'s latest AI accelerator, Vera Rubin.
Nvidia and other U.S. technology companies are expected to use HBM chips produced by SK hynix at the Indiana plant.
Kwak said the products to be manufactured at the Indiana facility will be seventh-generation HBM4E chips, rather than HBM4.
The decision comes as Nvidia plans to continue improving the performance of its AI accelerators.
SK hynix previously said it had completed sample shipments of its seventh-generation HBM4E chips to customers and was progressing with development as scheduled.
The Indiana facility is being built on land in West Lafayette, home to Purdue University. Once the fab is fully operational, it is expected to employ about 1,000 people.
SK hynix has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Purdue University to strengthen its R&D capabilities for next-generation HBM development and testing. Through the partnership, the company plans to attract highly skilled talent from the university.
Ambassador Kang highlighted the importance of cooperation between "trusted" partners at a time when semiconductors, AI and resilient supply chains are "increasingly vital."
"SK hynix is investing not only in manufacturing capacity. It is investing directly in the innovation that will drive the next generation of AI technology," she said.
She added that the construction project embodies South Korea-U.S. cooperation "at its very best," pointing to Korea's technological and manufacturing capabilities and America's strength in AI research, innovation and talent.
"The Korean government will continue to work closely with our companies, the U.S. government and the state of Indiana and local communities and congressional leaders to create a virtuous cycle of Korea-U.S. economic cooperation, creating opportunities here in America, strengthening our shared supply chains and opening new avenues for innovation and growth in both of our countries," she said.
Sen. Young said that the construction project will strengthen America's national and economic security and ensure the technologies of the future are developed and manufactured in the U.S.
"I was proud to help make this investment possible through the CHIPS and Science Act, and I look forward to seeing the impact it will have on Hoosiers and our country for decades to come," he was quoted as saying.
SK hynix announced its investment plan in the U.S. during the former Biden administration, driven by the CHIPS Act. In December 2024, the Commerce Department announced its decision to give up to $458 million in direct funding and up to $500 million in loans to SK hynix under the act for its investment in Indiana.
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