By Opeyemi Babalola
Publication Date: 2026-08-09 13:33:00
Every high-end NvidiaAI chip that ships this year comes bundled with someone else’s manufacturing bet.
The stacked memory wrapped around each processor, the component that lets a GPU actually move data fast enough to be useful, comes almost entirely from one supplier.
SK Hynix Inc. (SKHY) is that supplier, and on Friday it committed $38 billion to keep it that way through 2031.
The company’s board approved roughly $54.3 trillion won, about $38.3 billion, split across two domestic sites, according to a Reuters report.
Most of the money, $35.2 trillion won, goes toward a second DRAM fab in Yongin. The remaining $19.1 trillion won funds a new NAND plant in Cheongju.
That split matters. DRAM, especially the high-bandwidth memory variant used to feed AI accelerators, is where SK Hynix has built its dominance and its relationship with Nvidia.
NAND is the steadier, lower-margin business that keeps revenue diversified when the AI cycle wobbles.
A $38 billion bet on capacity nobody can use yet
Construction on the Yongin plant, called Y2, starts in July 2027. Its first cleanroom will not open until June 2029, according to the company statement.
The Cheongju plant moves faster but still isn’t fast. Ground breaks in February 2027, with the first cleanroom targeted for December 2028, the same statement said.
In an industry where demand forecasts shift quarterly, SK Hynix just bet $38…
