Prime Highlights
- SK Hynix is investing $12.85 billion in a new AI memory packaging plant in Cheongju, with construction starting this month.
- The HBM push is squeezing standard DRAM supply, sending DDR5 kit prices soaring from under $100 to over $300 in a year.
Key Facts
- SK Hynix is a South Korean semiconductor giant and the current global leader in high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI systems.
- P&T7 spans 231,400 square metres and will rank among the world’s largest HBM packaging and testing facilities.
Background
SK Hynix announced in the last week of April a plan to invest 19 trillion won ($12.85 billion) in a new advanced packaging plant in South Korea. Construction begins this month to meet surging demand for AI memory chips, particularly high-bandwidth memory (HBM). The move reinforces SK Hynix’s position as a global leader in AI memory production.
The new facility, named P&T7, will sit in Cheongju, South Korea, directly beside the M15X plant that produces advanced DRAM wafers used in AI memory. Placing both wafer production and packaging in one location aims to speed up the manufacturing process. Spanning approximately 231,400 square metres, P&T7 is set to become one of the world’s largest HBM packaging and testing sites.
The plant forms part of a three-location packaging strategy, alongside existing operations in Icheon and a planned $4 billion facility in West Lafayette, Indiana. SK Hynix describes the Indiana site as America’s first advanced packaging and research hub for HBM.
The company also confirmed a total spend of 20 trillion won ($13.6 billion) in 2025 to expand capacity, including bringing forward the opening of another memory chip plant in South Korea. Additionally, SK Hynix ordered chipmaking equipment worth 12 trillion won ($7.97 billion) from Dutch semiconductor supplier ASML.
The aggressive push into high-margin HBM is tightening supply of standard DRAM chips. DDR5 memory kit prices have surged from under $100 to over $300 in the past year, reflecting the industry-wide shift toward AI memory production.