Reuters: Solidigm weighing US factory construction
Move seen as way to reduce reliance on China production
SK hynix says no finalized plans yet
Solidigm, the US subsidiary of SK hynix, is considering building a NAND flash memory factory in the United States, according to reports.
Reuters reported Friday that Solidigm is exploring construction of a NAND flash factory in the US, with upstate New York emerging as a leading candidate site. Key details including the factory's scale and investment amount are still under discussion, and no final decision has been made.
Reuters noted that the project is separate from discussions SK hynix is holding with Intel over the potential use of Intel's Ohio factory.
Earlier, Reuters reported that SK hynix was in talks to either lease part of Intel's Ohio facility or form a joint venture with Intel and major cloud companies to produce memory chips in the United States.
Should Solidigm establish a NAND production base in the US, the move is also expected to reduce the company's dependence on China. Solidigm's only current NAND production facility is in Dalian, China.
Securing a US production foothold would help spread geopolitical risks stemming from US-China tensions, including tariffs on China and export controls on semiconductor equipment. Surging global memory chip demand driven by growing investment in AI data centers is also cited as a factor behind the push to expand production capacity.
SK hynix said its subsidiary Solidigm "is reviewing various options to strengthen its business competitiveness, but no specific plans have been finalized at this time."
SK hynix is also expanding its investment in the US AI ecosystem. On Thursday (local time), the company officially launched its corporate venture capital brand, SK hynix Ventures, in Silicon Valley. The company plans to broaden its investment scope — previously focused on semiconductors and future technologies — to cover the wider AI ecosystem, including AI computing, data centers, system software and optical interconnects.
go@heraldcorp.com
