SK Hynix commits $38 billion to two new chip fabs as AI memory demand refuses to cool

SK Hynix will spend 54 trillion Korean won, roughly $38.1 billion, on two new memory chip plants in South Korea, a bet that the AI data centre buildout still has years of runway left. The company’s board approved the plan on Friday, splitting the money between a fabrication plant in Yongin, south of Seoul, and a second facility in Cheongju in the centre of the country.

Neither one will produce a chip this decade’s midpoint. The Cheongju fab breaks ground in February 2027 and opens its first cleanroom in December 2028.