South Korea’s SK Hynix to establish a special ‘AI Company’ in the U.S.

South Korean memory giant SK Hynix announced Wednesday that it will set up a new U.S.-based company focused on artificial intelligence solutions, committing at least $10 billion as it seizes on new AI growth engines.

The new U.S. entity, tentatively named “AI Company or AI Co.,” will serve as a hub for SK Group’s AI strategies and work to accelerate the technology in global markets, the company said.

SK Hynix has emerged as a major AI player in recent years due to its leadership in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a type of memory used in AI chipsets like those from Nvidia.

The company’s U.S. expansion comes as other tech giants intensify investments in AI, driving intense demand for memory chips.

SK Hynix said that it will create the new “AI Company” by restructuring its California-based subsidiary Solidigm, an enterprise solid-state drive (SSD) manufacturer created in 2021. 

Solidigm’s operations will then be transferred to a new entity named Solidigm Inc.

The planned investments in AI Co. are expected to be deployed on a capital-call basis, with plans for further strategic investments in American AI firms to boost synergies across SK Group affiliates.

The announcement follows SK Hynix’s forecast-beating fourth-quarter also announced Wednesday, with profits boosted by ongoing shortages across the memory supply chain that have pushed up prices.

To capitalize on this surging AI demand, SK Hynix has been accelerating investments and has also committed nearly $13 billion to build an advanced chip packaging plant in South Korea.

The plans for a new entity based in the U.S. also align with the priorities of the Trump administration, which has threatened tariffs on semiconductor manufacturers unless they heavily invest in the U.S.

SK Hynix is already in the process of building a $3.87 billion advanced chip packaging fabrication and R&D facility in Indiana, announced back in 2024. The facility will produce high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI applications, with operations slated to begin in 2028.

U.S. President Donald Trump has also been engaged in broader tariff negotiations with South Korea in recent months. However, the president said on Tuesday that Washington would “work something out” with South Korea following his recent tariff threats, signaling a potential easing of trade tensions.