SK hynix(000660) will build its first production base in the United States to mass-produce advanced High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). Core artificial intelligence (AI) components on the scale of hundreds of thousands of units a year are expected to be supplied locally in the United States.
SK hynix said on the 27th (local time) that it held a groundbreaking ceremony for a next-generation HBM advanced packaging fabrication plant (fab) in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The Indiana fab is SK hynix's first production base in the United States. SK hynix plans to complete construction of the clean room, the packaging process space, by Oct. 2028 and begin full-scale HBM mass production in the second half of 2029.
It will be the first time a Korean company produces HBM, which until now had no production history in the United States. Major local big tech corporations, including Nvidia, will receive HBM produced in the United States.
Chief Executive Officer Kwak Noh-jung of SK hynix attended the ceremony and said the new fab's HBM manufacturing capacity would reach hundreds of thousands of units a year. The structure is to receive hundreds of thousands of DRAM (RAM) wafers annually and complete them into HBM through back-end processes. The industry currently estimates SK hynix's annual DRAM output at about 6 million wafers, with a portion allocated to HBM manufacturing.
Kwak said, "The Indiana project is about establishing the first HBM production base in the United States," adding, "It will be a key base to first supply 'Made in USA' HBM and a major foundation that strengthens the U.S. semiconductor supply chain and contributes to the economy and security."
SK hynix will invest about $4 billion in the construction project. The U.S. government also decided to provide up to $450 million in subsidies and $500 million in loans under the CHIPS and Science Act (Chips Act).
The Indiana fab will perform advanced packaging (back-end) to stack and bond DRAM chips shipped from Korea into HBM, as well as research and development (R&D) for next-generation HBM.
The latest specification SK hynix supplies is the sixth generation (HBM4), which stacks 12 DRAM layers. It is being installed in Nvidia's state-of-the-art AI accelerator "Vera Rubin."
As Nvidia continues to improve AI accelerator performance, the HBM to be manufactured at the Indiana fab is likely to be a next-generation lineup beyond the sixth generation. SK hynix is currently developing the seventh generation (HBM4E).
To develop and validate next-generation technology, SK hynix signed a research and development (R&D) memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Purdue University, which has strengths in engineering. Through this, the company plans to actively secure Purdue's top research talent. The plant site is located on land owned by Purdue in West Lafayette. About 1,000 personnel are expected to be stationed once the fab's operations hit their stride.
Kwak said the project would create about 7,000 direct and indirect jobs, combining construction and operations personnel with roughly 100 partner materials, parts, and equipment companies.