SK Hynix has announced a major expansion plan to double its wafer production capacity over the next five years, responding to a persistent global shortage of memory chips driven by infrastructure development for artificial intelligence.

During the Computex event in Taipei on Tuesday, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won informed reporters that the global supply gap for memory chips could last until 2030. He stated the company is increasing capital expenditures to address the supply-demand imbalance, though specific investment figures were not disclosed. This statement follows his warning from March of this year that the global wafer shortage might extend beyond 2030.

This expansion plan has significant market implications. Last week, SK Hynix's market capitalization surpassed 1 trillion dollars for the first time, joining Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology in the trillion-dollar valuation club. These three companies collectively dominate the global memory market. Investors and analysts widely anticipate the memory shortage will persist until at least 2027, granting memory chip manufacturers unusual pricing leverage over the world's largest technology firms.

The AI Reshaping of a Traditional Cyclical Sector

Memory chips are a core component for storing and transmitting the vast amounts of data required to run AI services, becoming a major bottleneck in artificial intelligence development. The trillions of dollars in anticipated data center investments by hyperscale cloud providers, exemplified by Meta Platforms, have directly contributed to the historic market cap milestones achieved by SK Hynix and Micron.

Goldman Sachs has raised its 2028 operating profit forecasts for SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics by 24% and 23.3%, respectively, to 454 trillion won (approximately $2.996 trillion) and 610 trillion won. This revision is based on the expectation of sustained, AI-driven demand. Some analysts believe the AI boom is fundamentally reshaping the traditionally highly cyclical memory industry.

SK Hynix Leads HBM Market, Aims to Strengthen Alliances

In the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) segment, a critical component for AI chips, SK Hynix currently holds a dominant position. According to Counterpoint Research data, SK Hynix commanded a 58% share of the global HBM market in the first quarter of this year, with Samsung and Micron each holding 21%.

Chairman Chey expressed his hope that SK Hynix would become the primary HBM supplier for Nvidia's Vera Rubin system. He also noted the company needs to broaden its partnership network beyond its current collaboration with the world's largest foundry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). His comments at Computex, which gathered top executives from leading global tech firms including Nvidia, further underscored this strategic push to deepen cooperative relationships.