SK Hynix breaks ground on $4B HBM memory facility in Indiana for AI

SK Hynix plans to build a NAND memory facility in the US, aimed squarely at the AI data centers consuming chips faster than anyone can make them.

The move would give the South Korean memory giant a second major manufacturing footprint on American soil. Its first is already under construction in Indiana, and the timing is no accident: its CEO thinks the current shortage could run to the end of the decade.

From packaging to storage

HBM feeds data to AI processors at high speed, while NAND stores the massive datasets those processors chew through.

That NAND effort runs through Solidigm, SK Hynix’s US subsidiary. Solidigm had been studying whether to build a dedicated NAND flash fabrication plant in the US, with upstate New York emerging as a leading candidate as of September 2026.

As of late October 2026, no final investment decision on that plant had been made. The site, cost, and timeline for the NAND facility have not been confirmed.

The project is also tangled up in a separate question: US approvals for equipment shipments to Solidigm’s existing facility in Dalian, China. Those approvals are tied to funding the company’s US operations during a period of global memory shortages.

The Indiana blueprint

On August 27, 2026, the company broke ground on an advanced memory packaging facility in West Lafayette, Indiana. The investment exceeds $4 billion, and the site covers 133 acres.

It is SK Hynix’s first HBM packaging operation in the US. The plant is built to handle high-bandwidth memory designed for AI applications.

A cleanroom is slated for completion by October 2028, with volume production of next-generation HBM4E chips forecast for the second half of 2029.

When fully operational, the facility is expected to create approximately 1,000 jobs. It will work alongside SK Hynix’s existing wafer production in South Korea rather than replace it.

The Indiana project is receiving up to $458 million in support from the CHIPS Act.

A shortage with staying power

SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung has said the current memory chip shortage may persist until the end of 2030.

What this means

Indiana’s volume production is not expected until the second half of 2029, and the NAND facility has not reached a confirmed investment decision. Near-term relief from these projects is unlikely.

The NAND plant’s link to the Dalian equipment approvals suggests future deals may involve trade and export considerations alongside direct subsidies. If US approvals for equipment shipments to Solidigm’s China facility are part of how the company funds its American expansion, any shift in that regulatory stance could ripple straight into the New York decision.