Key points
- SK Hynix may lease part of Intel's Ohio site
- A cloud-backed joint venture is the other option
- Talks are exploratory, no decisions made
- Seoul may object to HBM built abroad
SK Hynix (SKHY) is discussing a deal with Intel (INTC) that could bring its memory-chip production to the United States for the first time, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing three people familiar with the talks.
Intel shares rose as much as 5.2% in premarket trading before easing to about $100.60 shortly before the open, up roughly 3.6%. SK Hynix's Nasdaq-listed shares were up about 3% premarket, near $180.10 against Tuesday's $174.83 close.
Two structures are under discussion, according to the report. Under one, SK Hynix would lease part of Intel's long-planned chipmaking site in Ohio. Under the other, the two would form a joint venture together with large cloud companies that want to lock in memory supply. Other arrangements are possible. The talks are exploratory and no decisions have been made, one of the sources told Reuters.
Reuters could not establish which chips SK Hynix would make in Ohio.
Why does this matter for Intel?
Intel has committed billions to its Ohio campus, but production remains years away. A lease or joint venture could give the delayed site another use and bring in a partner to share the investment.
That would not necessarily make SK Hynix a customer of Intel's chipmaking technology. The manufacturing responsibilities and financial terms have not been disclosed.
Intel declined to comment on what it called speculation, and said it is continuing with investments in Ohio to ready the site.
What did SK Hynix say in July?
This is the second time in two months that SK Hynix has been linked to Intel's Ohio campus, and the first time ended in a denial.
On July 22, after JoongAng Ilbo reported that SK Hynix was in talks to buy the site outright, the company filed a formal denial with the Korea Exchange. It said it "has not pursued or decided to acquire" the Ohio site. A spokesperson was blunter with reporters, saying the company had no acquisition plans. Intel separately reaffirmed its commitment to finishing the campus.
The two reports describe different deals. Buying a site and leasing part of one are not the same transaction, so the July denial does not contradict Wednesday's report. It does set the bar for what counts as confirmation here.
SK Hynix gave Reuters a narrower statement this time. The company said it is "reviewing various measures, including establishing additional production bases, to strengthen the competitiveness of its memory business," adding that "no matters have been determined at this stage." Later on Wednesday the company said on its website that nothing had been finalised regarding cooperation with any of the companies named in the Reuters report, or regarding memory chip production in the United States.
What could block a deal?
Seoul could. Advanced memory such as high bandwidth memory, or HBM, is treated in South Korea as sensitive technology, and an agreement to produce it in Ohio could draw government opposition, Reuters reported, citing three people.
HBM is the stacked memory that sits beside an AI accelerator and feeds it data. SK Hynix is the leading supplier of it to Nvidia.
South Korea's trade ministry told Reuters that any decision would be at the company's discretion, but that if it involved a "national core technology" it would be subject to review under the Industrial Technology Protection Act.
Where does this leave SK Hynix's US plans?
The company is already building in the United States, though its announced Indiana project focuses on advanced packaging rather than memory-chip fabrication. It broke ground there last month, with the plant due in 2029. Packaging assembles finished memory into the stacks Nvidia buys. An Ohio agreement could add memory-chip fabrication to those US operations.
SK Hynix listed its American depositary receipts on Nasdaq in July and said in June that it would double capacity over five years. Its Seoul-listed shares are up about 400% over the past year, according to CNBC.
Chairman Chey Tae-won described the demand behind all of it to CNBC in July, when he said demand for HBM is "enormous."
Intel's own roadmap questions are still open. The company went to the AI Infra Summit on September 15 with its Crescent Island questions unanswered.
