SK Advances Into Big Tech's Home Turf, Evolving Beyond Memory Into an AI Infrastructure Company
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- 2026-07-09 18:27:11
- Updated
- 2026-07-09 18:27:11
Chey's broader strategy goes far beyond simply raising funds through the Nasdaq listing. He aims to have SK hynix's corporate value reassessed in the United States, strengthen its presence in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) ecosystem, and secure large-scale business opportunities as an AI infrastructure company by competing and cooperating with Big Tech firms on the ground. For that reason, the group is also concentrating investment resources from SK hynix, SK, and SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (SKT) into an AI Company (AI Co.) established in the United States. A senior business source said that building AI data centers in the United States is also under review, in addition to domestic projects. The move signals an advance into Big Tech's home turf.
■ Chey's 'big picture' ... inclusion in the Nasdaq-100
According to SK Group on the 9th, Chey is accelerating efforts to secure a 'super momentum' for SK hynix and the broader SK Group as part of a leap toward becoming a global AI infrastructure company. He is leading the first step of that plan by overseeing SK hynix's Nasdaq listing in the United States, while channeling group resources into the AI Co. established there.
SK hynix initially said it planned to raise $29 billion through the ADR issuance. The company will issue up to 17.79 million new shares, or about 2.5% of its total outstanding shares. However, due to the recent decline in semiconductor stocks, the actual amount raised is expected to be about $24.5 billion, based on the previous day's closing price.
■ A turning point for semiconductor stocks
In his new book Super Momentum, published earlier this year and centered on the success story of SK hynix's high-bandwidth memory (HBM), Chey said that the market had still viewed SK hynix as a commodity manufacturer and had not assigned it a higher valuation. He added that Hynix should be 10 times larger than it is now, based on the market capitalization at the time of about 2,000 trillion won. In fact, SK hynix's market capitalization surged nearly tenfold from about 200 trillion won in June last year, surpassing 2,000 trillion won for the first time on June 22. As of that day, it stood at around 1,558 trillion won. The market sees SK hynix's Nasdaq listing as a key variable that could determine the direction of the semiconductor stock peak-out trend.
Lee Sang-heon, an analyst at iM Securities, said, "We are watching the possibility of inclusion in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index in September and the Nasdaq-100 in December," adding, "Improved access for U.S. investors should help improve investment flows."
■ SK hynix profit to reach 300 trillion won this year
The global industrial community is paying close attention to the message Chey will deliver at the listing ceremony. A business source said, "Since the outcome of the AI competition will likely depend on stable memory supply capabilities, he may present measures to ease semiconductor bottlenecks and will likely focus on positioning SK hynix as a core pillar of the future AI industry."
SK hynix plans to use the funds raised in the United States for the first fab at the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, construction of the P&T7 advanced semiconductor packaging plant in Cheongju, which is a back-end facility dedicated to HBM, and the acquisition of advanced semiconductor equipment, including extreme ultraviolet (EUV) scanners.
According to FnGuide, the consensus operating profit forecast for SK hynix in the second quarter of this year stands at 6.48227 trillion won, up 603.6% from a year earlier. That would mark the company's highest quarterly earnings since its founding.
Meanwhile, the business community is watching closely to see whether Chey will meet with global Big Tech leaders after attending the listing ceremony. Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer of Tesla, and Jensen Huang, Chief Executive Officer of NVIDIA, are among those being mentioned.
ehcho@fnnews.com Reporter