SK hynixa South Korean memory chip giant already listed on the KOSPI is setting the stage for a potential US listing that could reportedly raise about $10 billion to $14 billion.
The company announced this week that it has confidentially filed a Form F-1 with the listing, targeting the second half of 2026.
But the real question isn’t just how much it can raise: it’s whether a US listing could increase its trading value as one of the most critical players in the AI chip supply chain.
Despite its critical role in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a key component that powers AI systems from companies such as Nvidia, the stock has historically traded at a discount to global peers, according to a Seoul-based semiconductor analyst. It has a market capitalization of about $440 billion, but its valuation multiples remain below those of publicly traded U.S. semiconductor companies, raising questions about whether geography, rather than fundamentals, is partly driving the gap.
The move is widely seen as an attempt to raise its valuation to match global companies such as Micron.
“SK hynix’s U.S. listing could help close a long-standing valuation gap with global peers. Despite having comparable — or in some areas stronger — production capacity than U.S.-based chipmakers, the Korean company has historically traded at a discount, in part due to its main listing in Korea,” the analyst told TechCrunch.
The analyst also cited structural factors shaping the deal. “SK Square, SK hynix’s largest shareholder, which held 20.07% as of December 2025, is required to maintain a stake of at least 20% under Korean holding company rules.”
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Based on current stock prices, issuing about 2 percent in new shares could raise $10 billion to $14 billion while allowing SK Square to maintain its ownership limit, the analyst said. (Under Korea’s Fair Trade Act, holding companies must maintain minimum ownership percentages in subsidiaries, at least 20% for listed entities, to maintain control.)
There is precedent. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), for example, has seen its U.S.-listed shares trade at a premium to its domestic shares at times, particularly during periods of strong AI demand, suggesting the crossover can affect how investors price the same underlying business.
The move is already rippling through the wider Korean chip sector. Following SK hynix’s filing, some investors are now pushing Samsung Electronics to consider a similar listing in the US. Artisan Partners, a major shareholder, said on Friday that a U.S. listing (technically known as an American depositary receipt, or ADR) could help Samsung boost its valuation as well, as well as give U.S. retail investors a chance to buy its shares, according to Bloomberg report.
A capital boost to meet AI-driven demand
SK hynix’s planned ADR listing is also widely seen as a move to secure financing ahead of ramping up capital spending to meet growing demand for AI semiconductor memory.
At its annual general meeting on March 25, SK hynix CEO Noh-Jung Kwak said financial prowess will be key to sustaining growth in the AI era, adding that the company is targeting about $75 billion (over 100 trillion KRW) in net cash to support long-term investments.
Rising memory costs and limited supply have been one of the obstacles slowing AI builds, but they’re also affecting other industries, such as consumer players. It is a state that has been compiled “RAMmageddon” and, if nothing changes in the market, is expected to continue until at least 2027, References of nature.
Time will tell if this doomsday prediction holds true. Tech giants are working to solve RAMmageddon in ways other than increased production. For example, Google this week introduced a technology called TurboQuant, a highly efficient AI memory compression algorithm. It allows the AI to become much more efficient in its use of memory.
However, the signs are that more memory production will be needed as well. SK hynix prepares for a wave of capital-intensive projects. The company plans to invest about $400 billion by 2050 to build a semiconductor complex in Yongin, South Korea. It is also building new facilities in South Korea and Indiana, with planned investments of about $25 billion and $3.3 billion, respectively, underscoring the scale of capital required.
The chipmaker said this week it will acquire advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography scanners from ASML by 2027 in a deal worth $7.9 billion, aimed at boosting production of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for artificial intelligence.
All this will be supported by a successful US IPO. And that could lead other Korean chipmakers to follow suit.
