SK Hynix Says No Plans Confirmed on Reported Intel US Memory Talks

SK hynix said in an official newsroom statement on September 16, 2026, that no plans have been confirmed or finalized regarding reported talks with Intel about manufacturing memory chips in the United States, responding to a same-day report that described two potential deal scenarios.

The statement addressed a report published on September 16, 2026, titled “SK Hynix in talks with Intel about deal to make memory chips in the US for the first time, sources say.” According to SK hynix’s statement, the report said the company is in talks with Intel about a deal to manufacture memory chips in the United States, and it mentioned a potential scenario in which SK hynix could lease part of Intel’s long-planned semiconductor manufacturing facility in Ohio. A second scenario mentioned in the report, per the statement, is the possibility of establishing a joint venture involving SK hynix, Intel, and major cloud companies.

“SK hynix is exploring various options to strengthen its global competitiveness, but no specific plans or arrangements have been finalized at this time,” the company said. It added that no decisions have been made regarding the two scenarios mentioned in the article, and clarified that nothing has been finalized regarding cooperation with any specific companies named in the report or memory chip production in the United States.

SK Hynix’s Existing US Manufacturing Buildout

SK hynix is already building its first US production site in Indiana. On April 3, 2024, the company announced an estimated $3.87 billion investment in West Lafayette, Indiana, to build an advanced packaging fabrication and R&D facility for AI products, a project it described as the first of its kind in the United States and said would bring more than a thousand new jobs to the region. The facility was planned to mass-produce next-generation high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, a high-performance memory that vertically interconnects multiple DRAM chips, with mass production then targeted for the second half of 2028. SK hynix also committed to research collaboration with Purdue University on advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration, workforce training programs with Purdue and Ivy Tech Community College, and a project on memory-centric architecture for the generative AI era.

The company held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Indiana fab on August 27, 2026, at Purdue University’s Holloway Gymnasium. The approximately 133-acre West Lafayette site will house an HBM production line and an Advanced Packaging R&D Testbed, and SK hynix plans to supply next-generation HBM that has undergone on-site packaging and testing to US customers starting in the second half of 2029. Attendees included Indiana Governor Mike Braun, Senator Todd Young, Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, West Lafayette Mayor Erin Easter, and SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung, and the event included the signing of a memorandum of understanding between SK hynix and Purdue for advanced packaging research and development. Kwak said SK hynix plans to establish the facility as its first HBM production base in the United States, supplying “Made in USA” HBM and ensuring a stable supply of next-generation memory to US customers.

Korean Capacity Expansion

On August 7, 2026, SK hynix announced board approval of approximately 54 trillion won for two new Korean fabs: 35.2 trillion won for the Yongin Y2 fab, a DRAM production base targeting a first cleanroom in June 2029 to produce HBM and other next-generation DRAM products, and 19.1 trillion won for the Cheongju M17 NAND fab, targeting a first cleanroom in December 2028. The investments sit within the company’s master plans of 600 trillion won for the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster and 100 trillion won for its Cheongju production base, and construction of the first Yongin fab, Y1, is progressing toward an initial cleanroom opening targeted for February 2027. Citing market research firm Omdia’s projection that DRAM and NAND demand would maintain a 19 percent compound annual growth rate from 2025 through 2030, the company described memory as core infrastructure determining AI performance.

Prior Intel Transaction and the Ohio Site

On October 20, 2020, SK hynix and Intel announced a signed agreement under which SK hynix would acquire Intel’s NAND memory and storage business for $9 billion, including the NAND SSD business, the NAND component and wafer business, and the Dalian NAND memory manufacturing facility in China. Under the staged structure, SK hynix would pay $7 billion at the first closing, covering the NAND SSD business and the Dalian facility, and the remaining $2 billion at a final closing then expected in March 2025, and Intel would retain its Optane business.

The Ohio facility referenced in the reported scenario is Intel’s long-planned manufacturing campus. Intel announced the project on January 21, 2022, with an initial investment of more than $28 billion to build two leading-edge chip factories in Licking County on a campus of nearly 1,000 acres. Intel describes the project as the largest single private-sector investment in Ohio history and expects the initial phase to create 3,000 Intel jobs and 7,000 construction jobs, and the company pledged an additional $100 million toward partnerships with educational institutions to build a regional talent pipeline. Construction began with a September 2022 groundbreaking and went vertical by September 2024, and on November 26, 2024, Intel and the Biden-Harris administration finalized a $7.86 billion funding award under the US CHIPS Act.