SK Hynix Conditions New US Factory on More US Chip Equipment Exports to China, Sources Say

3-line summary

• SK Hynix is seeking Washington's approval to export more US-made chipmaking equipment to China, in order to expand production there, as a condition for building a new factory in the US, according to a Reuters exclusive citing people familiar with the matter (SK Hynix, its US subsidiary Solidigm and the Commerce Department did not comment or respond). The Trump administration has been pressing foreign chipmakers including SK Hynix and Samsung to build US factories.
• Specifically, Solidigm wants to install more NAND equipment (from Lam Research, Applied Materials and KLA) in idle space at its Dalian, China plant's 'Mod B' fab, built in 2023 but never fully equipped amid a memory-market downturn; the Commerce Department revoked blanket equipment-license exemptions for South Korean firms' China plants last year and this year issued a capped 2026 license for Dalian, with a 2027 license still pending. The article does not specify the size or location of the proposed new US NAND plant, only that fabs cost billions and take years to build; revenue from expanded China production, and a potential IPO for Solidigm as early as next year, could help fund it. Separately, SK Hynix is in talks to lease part of Intel's Ohio plant and has broken ground on an HBM advanced-packaging plant in Indiana.

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