South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix, already listed on KOSPI, is laying the groundwork for a possible U.S. listing that could reportedly raise an estimated $10 billion to $14 billion.
The company announced this week that it has confidentially filed a Form F-1 with the aim of going public in the second half of 2026.
But the real question isn’t just how much money can be raised. As one of the most important companies in the AI chip supply chain, the question is whether a U.S. listing will increase trading value.
Seoul-based semiconductor analysts say the stock has historically traded at a discount compared to its global peers, despite its key role in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a key component that powers AI systems at companies like Nvidia. The company has a market capitalization of about $440 billion, but its valuation multiple remains below that of U.S.-listed semiconductor companies, raising questions about whether geography rather than fundamentals is partially driving the gap.
The move is widely seen as an effort to boost its valuation to bring it in line with global peers like Micron.
“SK Hynix’s U.S. listing could help close a long-standing valuation gap with its global peers. The Korean company has historically traded at a discount, largely due to its listing in South Korea, despite having production capacity comparable to, and in some regions stronger than, U.S.-based chipmakers,” analysts told TechCrunch.
The analyst also cited structural factors shaping the deal. “SK Square, the largest shareholder of SK Hynix, which held 20.07% as of December 2025, is required to maintain at least a 20% stake under South Korean holding company rules.”
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Based on the current stock price, issuing about 2% new shares could allow SK Square to raise $10 billion to $14 billion while maintaining its ownership standards, analysts said. (Under South Korea’s Fair Trade Act, a holding company must maintain a minimum ownership interest in a subsidiary, at least 20% in the case of a listed company, in order to maintain control.)
There is precedent. For example, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has found that its U.S.-listed shares can sometimes trade at a premium to domestic stocks, especially during periods of strong AI-driven demand, suggesting that cross-listings could influence how investors price the same underlying business.
This movement is already spreading throughout South Korea’s chip sector. Following SK Hynix’s filing, some investors are now calling on Samsung Electronics to consider a similar U.S. listing. Major shareholder Artisan Partners said on Friday that a U.S. listing, technically known as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), could also help boost Samsung’s valuation and give U.S. retail investors an opportunity to buy the company’s shares, Bloomberg reported.
Injecting capital to meet AI-driven demand
SK Hynix’s planned ADR listing is widely seen as a move to secure funds in advance of increasing capital investment to meet the rising demand for memory caused by AI semiconductors.
At the annual general meeting of shareholders on March 25, SK Hynix CEO Noh Jun Kwak-Said said that financial strength is the key to sustainable growth in the AI era, adding that the company is targeting approximately $75 billion (more than 100 trillion won) in net cash to support long-term investments.
The rising cost and limited supply of memory is one of the bottlenecks slowing down the buildout of AI, but it’s also impacting other industries, such as consumer gamers. This is a situation known as “Rammageddon” and is expected to last until at least 2027 if nothing changes in the market, Nature reports.
Only time will tell whether this doomsday prophecy comes true. Tech giants are working to solve RAMmageddon in other ways besides expanding manufacturing. For example, Google this week introduced a technology called TurboQuant, a super-efficient AI memory compression algorithm. This greatly improves AI’s memory usage efficiency.
Nevertheless, the signals indicate that more memory generation is also required. SK Hynix is gearing up for a wave of capital-intensive projects. The company plans to invest about $400 billion by 2050 to build a semiconductor cluster in Yongin, South Korea. The company is also building new facilities in South Korea and Indiana, with planned investments of approximately $25 billion and $3.3 billion, respectively, highlighting the scale of capital needed.
The company announced this week that it will acquire advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography scanners from ASML in a deal worth $7.9 billion through 2027 to expand production of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI.
All of this will be supported by a blockbuster IPO in the US. And that could lead to other Korean chipmakers following suit.
