South Korea, Aug 29 : South Korean semiconductor company SK Hynix plans to begin volume production of its next-generation HBM4E memory chips at its Indiana facility in the third quarter of 2029, as the company expects strong demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure to keep the memory market tight.
The planned production marks another step in the expansion of advanced semiconductor manufacturing in the United States, where companies are seeking to increase domestic capacity for technologies considered critical to the AI industry.
SK Hynix Chief Executive Officer Kwak Noh jung said the current memory shortage could continue through the end of 2030. The outlook reflects the rapid expansion of data centres and the growing amount of high-bandwidth memory required by advanced AI systems.
High-bandwidth memory, commonly known as HBM, is increasingly important for AI accelerators because it enables processors to access large volumes of data at high speed. Demand for the technology has grown alongside the development of increasingly powerful AI models.
The company is investing in production capacity as chipmakers race to keep up with demand from cloud providers and technology companies building AI computing infrastructure.
The Indiana facility is expected to become an important part of SK Hynix’s US manufacturing strategy. Expanding production in America could also help strengthen supply chains for advanced memory products and reduce dependence on concentrated manufacturing networks in Asia.
The prolonged shortage could have broader implications for the technology sector. Higher demand for specialised memory may influence chip prices, equipment investment and the cost of building AI data centres.
Industry analysts are closely watching whether semiconductor manufacturers can expand capacity quickly enough to meet demand without creating a sharp oversupply later in the decade.
For now, SK Hynix’s forecast suggests that AI-related demand will remain a major driver of the memory industry, with manufacturers preparing for several more years of elevated requirements.
