SK Hynix is planning a U.S. share sale that could raise about $28 billion, giving American investors easier access to one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI infrastructure boom. The South Korean memory chipmaker launched the offering on Monday and plans to list American depositary receipts on Nasdaq.
The company will sell 17.79 million new shares through the ADR structure. Ten ADRs will represent one common share, and the final listing price is expected to be set on Thursday before trading begins on Friday.
The offering could become one of the largest new share sales in global market history. Reuters reported that SK Hynix had already drawn indications of interest for up to $7 billion from major investors, including Baillie Gifford Overseas, Coatue Management funds and Situational Awareness Partners.
AI Demand Lifts Memory Chipmakers
SK Hynix is benefiting from strong demand for memory used in AI systems. The company is a major supplier of high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, which is used with advanced AI chips from companies such as Nvidia.
Its first-quarter revenue rose 198% from a year earlier to 52.58 trillion won, while operating profit reached 37.61 trillion won. The company said demand for high-performance memory remained strong as AI servers and data centres expanded.
Memory chips are critical for AI workloads because systems need to store and move large amounts of data quickly. Demand for HBM, DRAM and NAND has outpaced supply as cloud companies including Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Oracle continue building AI data centre capacity.
That shortage has pushed up prices and boosted investor interest in memory companies. SK Hynix shares were up about 260% this year as of Monday, according to Reuters.
Proceeds Will Fund Chip Capacity
SK Hynix said proceeds from the U.S. listing will be used to build chip factories in South Korea and buy chipmaking equipment, including extreme ultraviolet lithography systems from ASML. The listing also broadens the company’s investor base at a time when global funds are looking for more AI-related stock exposure.
South Korea has also announced a major semiconductor and AI investment programme, with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics expected to anchor new manufacturing capacity. The effort is intended to help the country keep pace with rising demand for advanced memory.
The expansion carries risk. Memory markets are cyclical, and new factories could add too much supply if AI demand slows or chip requirements change before capacity comes online.
For now, investors are still treating memory suppliers as some of the clearest ways to bet on AI infrastructure beyond Nvidia. The response to SK Hynix’s U.S. listing will show how strong that appetite remains after a sharp run-up in global chip stocks.
Featured image credits: Raimond Spekking via Wikimedia Commons
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