SK Hynix breaks ground on $4B Indiana HBM plant, eyes key U.S. memory base by 2030

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony held at Purdue University, Kwak underscored a critical global shortage of HBM driven by insatiable demand from artificial intelligence. "Today is not just the start of a construction project. Today, SK hynix begins building a new future for AI in the United States," he said. He added that the company will provide customers with a new source of made-in-U.S. HBM while strengthening the U.S. semiconductor supply chain.

The Indiana plant will focus on advanced packaging, where memory chips are stacked and connected, rather than front-end manufacturing. Cutting-edge wafers produced by SK Hynix in South Korea will be shipped to Indiana for packaging and testing before "made-in-U.S.A." products are supplied to American tech giants such as Nvidia. The company plans to open the first cleanroom in October 2028 and begin mass production of next-generation HBM4E chips in the second half of 2029. Kwak said SK Hynix expects to reach an annual capacity of hundreds of thousands of wafers at the site.

The project is supported by up to $458 million in direct federal funding under the CHIPS and Science Act, as well as up to $500 million in loans, according to the U.S. Commerce Department's December 2024 decision. Indiana's Economic Development Corporation separately said the state is offering an incentive package worth up to $712 million, the second largest in state history. The 133-acre site will also include an "advanced packaging research and development testbed" where customers, universities and business partners can develop packaging technologies and run prototype fabrication and performance validation.

Officials at the ceremony highlighted the strategic importance of the plant. Indiana Governor Mike Braun, a Republican, called it the "biggest development project in Indiana's history" and the "first of its kind in the country." U.S. Senator Todd Young, also a Republican, said the project will strengthen America's national and economic security and ensure future technologies are developed and manufactured in the U.S. South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Kang Kyung-wha said the construction embodies Korea-U.S. cooperation "at its very best."

SK Hynix said the Indiana facility will create about 1,000 direct jobs and an additional 6,000 jobs related to construction and business partners. For initial stages, the company will temporarily bring employees from South Korea, but plans to fill long-term roles with U.S. workers, including students from nearby Purdue University.

The groundbreaking marks a milestone in SK Hynix's U.S. expansion. The company, which leads the HBM market, is also building the world's largest memory fab campus in South Korea as part of a $720 billion buildout. It listed on the Nasdaq in July, raising $26.5 billion, and its market capitalization has risen about sevenfold over the past year to over $1 trillion. In July, Nvidia committed to co-develop memory with SK Hynix as part of a $500 billion deal with SK Group.

Kwak said SK Hynix remains open to building front-end chip fabs in the U.S. and is looking for the right opportunity. He said total U.S. investments and assets are expected to exceed $45 billion by 2030.