SK Hynix eyes $28B US debut as memory chip makers capitalize on AI demand

South Korea's SK Hynix, one of the world's largest memory chip producers, is moving forward with a significant entry into U.S. capital markets. The company intends to list approximately 17.8 million shares domestically, with an expected haul near $28 billion if current valuation holds, cementing its bet on sustained AI-driven growth.

A Path for U.S. Investors#

SK Hynix will offer shares through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), financial instruments that allow domestic investors to purchase foreign equities without accessing overseas exchanges directly. Each ADR represents one-tenth of a standard share. Trading is slated to commence this week, following Thursday's pricing announcement.

Riding the Memory Boom#

Like its American counterpart Micron, SK Hynix has seen exceptional gains tied to the artificial intelligence infrastructure build-out. The chipmaker's quarterly revenues jumped nearly 200% year-over-year, while its stock has climbed approximately 260% since the start of 2026. This surge reflects a fundamental mismatch: AI systems demand far more memory capacity than traditional computing, and as tech giants including Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Oracle erect massive data centers, chip shortages have become acute.

The scarcity affects multiple memory categories critical to AI workloads—High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), DRAM, and NAND chips—a crisis the industry has dubbed "RAMageddon." The strain has forced major hardware vendors to adjust pricing; Apple has raised costs on select Mac and iPad models rather than absorb margin pressure.

Manufacturing Race with Long-Term Risk#

To address capacity shortages, Seoul-based champions SK Hynix and Samsung have pledged more than $550 billion toward new fabrication plants. However, this expansion carries substantial risk: by the time these facilities come online, memory requirements for AI applications may shift, potentially oversupplying the market and depressing prices.

For now, Wall Street views memory chipmakers as among the closest parallels to Nvidia's explosive trajectory. Micron, the primary U.S. competitor, exemplifies this enthusiasm—its stock has surged nearly 700% over the past year, pushing its valuation past , supported by record-setting AI-focused revenue and orders.