SK hynix sharply increased facility and research and development (R&D) investment in the first half of this year to respond to growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) memory. Cash expenditure for acquiring property, plant and equipment topped 18 trillion won, up more than 70% from a year earlier.
According to the semiannual report disclosed by SK hynix on the 14th, cash expenditure for acquiring property, plant and equipment on a consolidation basis in the first half was 18.3288 trillion won, up 72.7% from 10.6157 trillion won in the same period last year.
R&D investment also expanded. Total expenditure on R&D in the first half was 6.0428 trillion won, up 98.4% from 3.0456 trillion won a year earlier. Of this, current development expenses were 5.8163 trillion won. SK hynix is also accelerating expansion of production facilities to meet rising demand for AI high-bandwidth memory (HBM), server DRAM and enterprise solid-state drives (SSD). On the 7th, the board decided to invest a total of 54.3 trillion won, including 35.2 trillion won in Y2, the second fab in the Yongin semiconductor cluster, and 19.1 trillion won in the new NAND fab M17 in Cheongju.
Y2 is set to break ground in July next year with the goal of operating its first clean room in June 2029. It will produce next-generation DRAM, including HBM. M17 is scheduled to break ground in February next year with a target of starting its first clean room in December 2028.
The investment is part of the 1,100 trillion won mid- to long-term plan SK hynix released in June. The company plans to invest 600 trillion won in Yongin, 100 trillion won in Cheongju and 400 trillion won in the southwest region in phases. The Yongin semiconductor cluster moved up the construction schedule for the fourth fab by 12 years to 2033 from the original 2045. The year 2033 is the target for completing the first clean room of the fourth fab, while investment in the remaining clean rooms and production equipment will continue in stages afterward.