SK Hynix has announced it will invest 54 trillion Korean won ($38.1 billion) to build two new memory chip facilities in South Korea. As the second largest RAM and NAND chip manufacturer after Samsung, the company aims to keep pace with the explosive demand for memory products caused by the AI data center boom.

The investment includes 35.2 trillion won ($24.9 billion) for a Yongin fabrication plant to produce HBM and DRAM, and 19.1 trillion won ($13.2 billion) for a facility in Cheongju to manufacture NAND storage chips. The first cleanroom is expected to start production as early as June 2029.

This move bets that the AI boom will continue, despite fears of a bubble. However, with demand growing faster than planned capacity, memory prices are unlikely to soften before the end of 2028. Manufacturers are currently allocating the majority of their chips to data center companies to maximize profitability.