SK Hynix in talks with Intel to expand AI memory production at Ohio campus

SK Hynix explores Intel Ohio partnership for front-end wafer production

SK Hynix is in exploratory talks with Intel to manufacture memory chips at Intel's Ohio campus, according to Reuters2

2

. The discussions center on potential arrangements including leasing part of Intel's planned Ohio facility or creating a joint venture involving Intel and major cloud companies1

1

. While no deal has been finalized, the reported partnership sent both companies' shares climbing, with Intel rising approximately 4% and SK Hynix gaining around 3%3

3

.

The potential collaboration addresses a critical gap in SK Hynix's U.S. semiconductor footprint. The company is already investing more than $4 billion in a West Lafayette, Indiana facility focused on advanced packaging and testing of next-generation HBM2

2

. However, that Indiana facility will initially receive state-of-the-art wafers manufactured at SK Hynix's plants in South Korea, meaning the advanced wafers still travel thousands of miles before packaging2

2

. An Ohio-based manufacturing arrangement could potentially enable front-end wafer production on U.S. territory, creating a more complete domestic AI memory supply chain.

Intel's delayed Ohio campus seeks new strategic purpose

Intel's Ohio project represents one of the semiconductor industry's most ambitious undertakings. The company is constructing two state-of-the-art semiconductor plants on over 1,000 acres in New Albany, Ohio, with plans to spend more than $28 billion on the first two facilities2

2

. When fully built out, the site could accommodate up to eight chip plants and related facilities, with total investment potentially reaching $100 billion2

2

.

However, Intel has repeatedly delayed the production timeline. Originally announced in 2022 with production expected to begin in 2025, the current target is to complete construction of the first production module by 2030, with operations starting between 2030 and 20312

2

3

3

. The second module is planned for completion in 2031 with operations beginning in 20322

2

. A partnership with SK Hynix could give Intel's delayed Ohio manufacturing footprint a strategic role while expanding U.S. memory production capacity as surging AI demand drives infrastructure spending.

High-bandwidth memory production becomes strategic imperative

The partnership discussions reflect how AI has fundamentally changed where memory companies need to build capacity. SK Hynix has emerged as a major supplier of high-bandwidth memory, which AI accelerators require for massive bandwidth needs2

2

. Rather than traditional memory located farther from the CPU, HBM stacks memory dies vertically, providing the performance AI servers and data centers demand2

2

.

SK Hynix's Indiana facility, which broke ground in August, is expected to begin mass production of next-generation HBM in the second half of 20291

1

. The project is estimated to create around 1,000 jobs during commercial operations, with some 7,000 direct and indirect jobs generated through construction and operations2

2

. The facility will also house a state-of-the-art packaging research and development testbed developed in collaboration with Purdue University2

2

.

Following Samsung's playbook with an AI-driven twist

SK Hynix's U.S. expansion strategy mirrors Samsung's earlier approach but with a distinctly AI-focused direction. Samsung opened its first Austin, Texas fabrication plant in 1997 and began producing 64Kb DRAM memory chips there in 1998, later adding NAND flash production before transitioning toward logic and foundry manufacturing1

1

. Samsung's U.S. manufacturing story began decades before the current AI boom, when memory was a broader semiconductor business1

1

.

The distinction matters because SK Hynix is expanding in the U.S. specifically to meet AI-driven HBM demand, bringing production closer to American customers consuming this critical technology1

1

. Micron is also investing heavily to expand U.S. DRAM production, while Samsung already maintains decades of American semiconductor manufacturing experience1

1

. The broader industry shift reflects Washington's push and American technology companies' desire to localize memory manufacturing and secure critical chip supply chains as AI infrastructure spending accelerates.