SK Hynix emblem displayed on a telephone display screen as seen on this illustration picture taken in Krakow, Poland on January 30, 2023.
Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Photos
SK Hynix, one of many world’s largest reminiscence chipmakers, mentioned it could make investments $3.87 billion in its first chip packaging facility within the U.S., marking one other victory for the Biden administration’s efforts to onshore chip manufacturing.
The South Korean agency introduced the West Lafayette, Indiana-based mission at an occasion at Purdue College on Wednesday, with officers from Indiana State and the U.S. authorities in attendance.
SK Hynix mentioned the power, slated for operation in 2028, will home a manufacturing line for SK Hynix’s cutting-edge high-bandwidth reminiscence chips — essential elements within the Nvidia GPUs used to coach AI programs like ChatGPT.
“We’re excited to turn into the primary within the business to construct a state-of-the-art superior packaging facility for AI merchandise in the US,” mentioned SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung in a press release, including it could “strengthen supply-chain resilience and develop an area semiconductor ecosystem.”
The mission can even deliver greater than a thousand new jobs to the area and can embody an R&D facility to develop future generations of chips, in response to the corporate.
U.S. CHIPS Act
The deliberate Indiana facility joins a protracted listing of recent semiconductor investments introduced within the U.S. for the reason that August 2022 passage of the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, which seeks to construct up the home chip business seen as vital to the financial system and nationwide safety.
The act gives billions in incentives for firms to onshore chip manufacturing within the U.S., on situation they don’t develop sure semiconductor manufacturing operations in China and different nations deemed a nationwide safety threat.
Sen. Todd Younger, R-Ind., mentioned in a press release “The CHIPS and Science Act opened a door that Indiana has been in a position to dash by means of, and firms like SK hynix are serving to to construct our high-tech future.”
Different Asian chipmaking giants have been drawn to the U.S. in recent times. South Korea’s Samsung is constructing a $17 billion chip fabrication plant in Texas, and Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest chip foundry, has dedicated $40 billion for 2 foundry chip amenities in Arizona.
Whereas the distribution of CHIPS Act funding took over a yr, final month the White Home awarded Intel as much as $8.5 billion in grants, with billions extra in loans accessible.
SK Hynix was up greater than 4% in Thursday buying and selling on the Korea Inventory Trade. The corporate’s share value skyrocketed greater than 120% over the previous yr amid pleasure surrounding Nvidia and AI.
