SK Hynix to double wafer capacity to relieve a multi-year memory chip shortage
South Korea's SK Hynix has announced it will double wafer production capacity to respond to a global memory-chip shortage. According to the Straits Times, the company's chair said the storage-chip deficit could endure until 2030.
Straits Times BusinessSouth Korea's SK Hynix has said it will double wafer production capacity to ease a deepening global memory-chip shortage. According to the Straits Times, company chair Chey Tae-won emphasised that the 'endemic deficit' observed in storage chips could last until 2030 and that a 'capital-intensive, multi-year investment plan' had been prepared.
A significant share of the expansion will be directed to high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI servers and to enterprise SSDs on the data-centre side. Demand for both segments has surged to record levels over the past six quarters as Nvidia's next-generation accelerators ship with reference designs that include HBM, and as cloud providers continue to expand capacity. Analyst estimates put the cumulative investment value above 100 billion US dollars.
The knock-on effects will be felt across the supply chain. Equipment vendors such as ASML and Tokyo Electron expect a potential acceleration in their order books. Global rivals Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology may also re-evaluate their investment programmes. An SK Hynix executive said the investments would be brought online in phases, with the first line expansion starting within the next 18 months.
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