South Korea's SK Hynix to establish a special ‘AI Company’ in the U.S.

South Korean representation elephantine SK Hynix announced Wednesday that it volition acceptable up a caller U.S.-based institution focused connected artificial quality solutions, committing astatine slightest $10 cardinal arsenic it seizes connected caller AI maturation engines.

The caller U.S. entity, tentatively named "AI Company oregon AI Co.," volition service arsenic a hub for SK Group's AI strategies and enactment to accelerate the exertion successful planetary markets, the institution said.

SK Hynix has emerged arsenic a large AI subordinate successful caller years owed to its enactment successful high-bandwidth representation (HBM) chips, a benignant of representation utilized successful AI chipsets similar those from Nvidia.

The company's U.S. enlargement comes arsenic different tech giants intensify investments successful AI, driving aggravated request for representation chips.

SK Hynix said that it volition make the caller "AI Company" by restructuring its California-based subsidiary Solidigm, an endeavor solid-state thrust (SSD) shaper created successful 2021. 

Solidigm's operations volition past beryllium transferred to a caller entity named Solidigm Inc.

The planned investments successful AI Co. are expected to beryllium deployed connected a capital-call basis, with plans for further strategical investments successful American AI firms to boost synergies crossed SK Group affiliates.

The announcement follows SK Hynix's forecast-beating fourth-quarter besides announced Wednesday, with profits boosted by ongoing shortages crossed the representation proviso chain that person pushed up prices.

To capitalize connected this surging AI demand, SK Hynix has been accelerating investments and has besides committed astir $13 cardinal to physique an advanced spot packaging plant successful South Korea.

The plans for a caller entity based successful the U.S. besides align with the priorities of the Trump administration, which has threatened tariffs connected semiconductor manufacturers unless they heavy put successful the U.S.

SK Hynix is already successful the process of gathering a $3.87 cardinal precocious spot packaging fabrication and R&D installation successful Indiana, announced backmost successful 2024. The installation volition nutrient high-bandwidth representation (HBM) for AI applications, with operations slated to statesman successful 2028.

U.S. President Donald Trump has besides been engaged successful broader tariff negotiations with South Korea successful caller months. However, the president said connected Tuesday that Washington would "work thing out" with South Korea pursuing his caller tariff threats, signaling a imaginable easing of commercialized tensions.