Seoul [South Korea], August 27 (ANI): South Korean chipmaker SK hynix on Thursday formally launched its USD 3.87 billion advanced chip packaging project in Indiana, a facility that is set to produce the first high bandwidth memory (HBM) in the United States, The Korea Herald reported.
As per report, the groundbreaking ceremony was held at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, more than two years after SK hynix announced the investment in April 2024.
The plant is expected to complete its clean room in October 2028 and begin mass production in the third quarter of 2029.
It also shared that once operational, the facility will take DRAM chips produced in South Korea and stack and package them into HBM, the high-performance memory used alongside processors such as Nvidia's AI accelerators. SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung said the plant will have the capacity to process several hundreds of thousands of DRAM wafers a year.
"Here in Indiana, we will build the first HBM advanced packaging facility in the US," Kwak said. "We will provide our customers with a new source of 'Made-in-US HBM,' while strengthening the US semiconductor supply chain and contributing to national and economic security."
Kwak said the company will develop next-generation packaging technologies with customers, universities and business partners, adding that the facility would enable faster prototype development and performance validation.
SK Inc. Vice Chairman and SK Americas CEO Yu Jeong-joon also thanked partners for supporting the Indiana project and highlighted SK Group's broader US investment footprint across semiconductors, energy and advanced technologies.
"SK has built a strong presence in semiconductors, energy and advanced technologies," Yu said. "Our investments and assets in the US are expected to exceed USD 45 billion by 2030. We believe these capabilities can come together to help build and power America's next generation of AI infrastructure."
The Korea Herald stated that SK hynix also signed a memorandum of understanding with Purdue University to expand cooperation on next-generation HBM research and testing and tap the university's engineering talent. The plant is being built on Purdue-owned land in West Lafayette.
The groundbreaking comes as the Trump administration pushes chipmakers to expand production on American soil. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last month called for more domestic memory-chip manufacturing during an event marking construction progress at Micron Technology's planned megafab in New York.
Overall, SK hynix plans to invest more than USD 4 billion in the Indiana facility. The US government has agreed under the CHIPS and Science Act to provide up to USD 458 million in direct funding and USD 500 million in loans.
Bill Frauenhofer, executive director of Semiconductor Investment and Innovation at the US Commerce Department, which oversees the CHIPS programme, said the Indiana project would strengthen US capabilities in advanced semiconductor packaging and research.
"This project and the R&D hub represent an important opportunity not only to bring cutting-edge capabilities to the United States, but to help develop the innovations that will define what comes next," Frauenhofer said.
"By establishing those capabilities here in Indiana, SK hynix is helping strengthen America's position at a critical point in the global semiconductor supply chain."
The Indiana facility will combine advanced HBM packaging with research and development for future generations of the memory technology.
SK hynix is currently producing HBM4, its sixth-generation HBM product, which is set to be used in Nvidia's Vera Rubin AI platform, while developing its successor, HBM4E.
About 1,000 people are expected to work at the facility once it becomes fully operational. Including construction, operations and a supply chain of roughly 100 materials, parts and equipment companies, SK hynix expects the project to generate about 7,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Construction at the site began in April, several months before Thursday's formal groundbreaking ceremony. Structural frames and columns are already rising at the roughly 540,000-square-meter site.
Korean Ambassador to the US Kang Kyung-wha, Indiana Governor Mike Braun and Republican Senator Todd Young of Indiana joined Kwak and other company executives at Thursday's ceremony.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, whose possible attendance had drawn attention ahead of the event, were not present. (ANI)
SK hynix launches USD 3.87 billion US HBM packaging project in Indiana
