SK Hynix breaks ground on Indiana AI chip facility

Aug 27, 2026

SK Hynix held a groundbreaking ceremony on August 27, 2026, for its new $4 billion advanced memory packaging facility in West Lafayette, Indiana. The plant, which is supported by $458 million in federal CHIPS Act grants and a $712 million state incentive package, represents a major step in the U.S. effort to onshore critical semiconductor supply chains. SK Hynix plans to open its first cleanroom in late 2028 and begin volume production of next-generation HBM4E chips in the third quarter of 2029, creating about 7,000 direct and indirect local jobs.

SK Hynix Indiana facility groundbreaking

▪The SK Hynix West Lafayette packaging plant will cost more than $4 billion and occupy a 133-acre site
▪The SK Hynix Indiana facility is expected to create approximately 1,000 direct jobs and an additional 6,000 indirect jobs related to construction and business partners
▪SK Hynix held a ceremonial groundbreaking on August 27, 2026, for its advanced memory packaging facility in West Lafayette, Indiana

HBM supply shortage

▪SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung stated on August 27, 2026, that he expects the current global high-bandwidth memory chip shortage to persist through the end of 2030
▪SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung stated on August 27, 2026, that he saw no clear signs of a memory downturn and expected any slowdown to involve moderating rather than sharply falling demand

U.S. semiconductor supply chain strategy

▪Indiana Governor Mike Braun characterized the SK Hynix packaging plant as the biggest development project in Indiana's history
▪The SK Hynix West Lafayette plant will package memory chips manufactured in South Korea and China, rather than performing front-end manufacturing in the United States

HBM4E production timeline

▪SK Hynix plans to open its first cleanroom at the West Lafayette facility in the second half of 2028
▪SK Hynix plans to begin volume production of its next-generation HBM4E chips at the Indiana facility in the third quarter of 2029

CHIPS Act funding

▪SK Hynix is receiving a state incentive package from Indiana worth up to $712 million, which is the second largest in the state's history
▪To support the Indiana facility, the U.S. government finalized up to $458 million in federal CHIPS Act grants and up to $500 million in loans

SK Hynix U.S. market expansion

▪SK Hynix listed shares on the Nasdaq in July 2026, raising $26.5 billion, which represents the most raised by any foreign company on U.S. markets
▪SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung stated that the company's total U.S. investments and assets are expected to exceed $45 billion by 2030