SK Hynix weighs Japan memory fab partnership to supply AI boom

August 31, 2026 at 06:24 AM3 min

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SK Hynix is studying the feasibility of a joint venture to make memory chips in Japan, one of several options under consideration to meet surging AI demand while controlling production costs. SK Inc. Chairman Chey Tae-won said the company is considering various locations for a jointly operated plant, speaking on the sidelines of meetings between South Korea and Japan's chambers of commerce in Sendai. The move comes as SK Hynix expands globally, including a chip packaging facility in Indiana and a 54 trillion won expansion in Korea.

Key Facts

SK Hynix is studying the feasibility of a joint venture to make memory chips in Japan, SK Inc. Chairman Chey Tae-won said in Sendai.
The company is considering various locations for a jointly operated plant and is 'looking all over Japan' for sites with good power and water.
SK Hynix plans a 54 trillion won ($39 billion) expansion of its chipmaking facilities in Korea and is building an advanced memory packaging facility in West Lafayette, Indiana.
SK Hynix already holds a sizable indirect stake in Tokyo-based flash memory producer Kioxia Holdings Corp.

Japan Venture Consideration

SK Hynix is studying the feasibility of a joint venture to make memory chips in Japan, one of several options under consideration to meet surging AI demand while controlling production costs. SK Inc. Chairman Chey Tae-won said the company is considering various locations for a jointly operated plant, speaking on the sidelines of meetings between South Korea and Japan's chambers of commerce in Sendai. Chey told Bloomberg News, 'We are looking all over Japan. Anywhere with good power and good water.' He declined to elaborate on potential partners or specific locations in Japan for such a venture.

Global Expansion and AI Demand

The artificial intelligence boom has made Icheon-based SK Hynix the star jewel of Chey's SK Group, with the company's products helping Nvidia Corp. and data center developers deliver AI computation. SK Hynix last week held a groundbreaking ceremony for a chip packaging facility in Indiana, and the company is exploring further international expansion. The company plans a 54 trillion won ($39 billion) expansion of its chipmaking facilities at home in Korea and is also building an advanced memory packaging facility in West Lafayette, Indiana. SK Hynix is scouring the globe for possible chip production sites to meet voracious data storage needs from AI, while navigating US attempts to slow China's tech ambitions.

Japanese Partnerships and NAND Market

The search in Japan is part of a wider effort within SK Hynix to deepen cooperation with Japanese customers and suppliers. The company already holds a sizable indirect stake in Tokyo-based flash memory producer Kioxia Holdings Corp. SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung last week said the company is 'carefully looking at how we can co-develop the NAND flash market with our customers and suppliers.' Along with high-bandwidth memory, NAND has seen a surge in demand as big-spending companies like Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. vie to secure ever larger pools of data in storage with faster performance than traditional hard drives.