SK Hynix is heading to Nasdaq to fund the next generation of AI memory infrastructure — and none of it will ease today's chip shortage.
The South Korean chipmaker filed with both the Financial Supervisory Service and the U.S. SEC on Wednesday to raise up to 45.45 trillion won ($29.43 billion) through an American depositary receipt offering on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, targeting a July 10 debut. The company has earmarked the entire raise for three projects with a combined committed cost of around $42.3 billion — meaning the ADR proceeds cover only a portion of a larger capital program. The three projects are the Y1 fab in the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster (targeted for completion in February 2027), the Cheongju P&T7 advanced packaging plant for HBM assembly (targeted for end of 2027), and a record $7.9 billion equipment order placed with ASML in March for roughly 30 EUV scanners. The company noted the 45.45 trillion won figure is a ceiling that may change before the offering closes.
The timing underscores a structural bind in the memory market. SK Hynix controls about 57% of the HBM market and 32% of global DRAM, and chairman Chey Tae-won has said AI demand will keep supply tight through 2030. DRAM contract prices have climbed through 2026 as all three major memory makers divert wafer capacity toward HBM, which uses roughly three times the silicon per gigabyte of standard DDR5. Raising capital now, at elevated valuations, to fund fabs that won't reach volume output until late 2027 is a reasonable trade — but it also means the squeeze has at least another year to run.
Two days before the filing, SK Hynix displaced Samsung Electronics as South Korea's most valuable listed company, ending a 26-year run at the top. That context makes the raise look less like desperation financing and more like a company consolidating a lead — though investors should note the $29B raise is funding a $42B-plus buildout, and the math only closes if the AI spending cycle holds.