SK Hynix's Solidigm in talks on $45 billion US plant tied to China site upgrade

Solidigm, the US-based flash-memory unit of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix, is in talks with the US Commerce Department to invest $45 billion in a new US chip plant, Bloomberg reported on Oct 27, citing people familiar with the negotiations. Before it commits, Solidigm wants US permission to ship chipmaking equipment to upgrade its existing plant in Dalian, China.

Solidigm declined to comment on the talks but said it is exploring options for building a NAND memory plant at potential locations around the world, and that no decision has been made. SK Hynix said Solidigm is reviewing options and no specific plans have been confirmed. NAND is the type of memory chip that keeps data without power, used in phones, PCs and data-center drives.

The proposal

Solidigm has told US officials that upgrading Dalian would help finance the US site and speed up its development, according to Bloomberg. The company has indicated that its US investment could approach $100 billion over time.

New York is among the states under consideration, and one person said construction could begin in 2027. The plant would be the first major new flash-memory production site in the US. Most flash output comes from Asia, though Micron's older plant in Manassas, Virginia, also makes the chips.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has pressed SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics to expand memory manufacturing in the US.

The Dalian plant

SK Hynix acquired Dalian with Intel's NAND business in 2021, and it remains Solidigm's only NAND production site, Reuters reported on Oct 21. The plant makes 192-layer chips, and SK Hynix is looking to move to 240 layers or more. More layers mean more storage per chip at lower cost.

In August 2025 the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security revoked the validated end-user approvals that had let SK Hynix and Samsung bring certain US tools into their China plants, replacing them with one-year permissions. The bureau has said it intends to license the operation of those plants, but not capacity expansion or technology upgrades. Both companies told Reuters their China upgrades are being done in close consultation with Washington.

Chinese rival Yangtze Memory Technologies held 38.5% of China's NAND market in the second quarter, according to research firm Omdia. SK Hynix's share fell to 17%, from 20% for all of 2025.

The IPO decision

The talks follow SK Hynix's Oct 23 decision to halt its review of a potential $10 billion US initial public offering of Solidigm. SK Hynix cited capital-market conditions and chip share-price trends, and Bloomberg reported resistance from regulators and shareholders.

Who is exposed

SK Hynix owns Solidigm, and its American depositary receipts have traded on Nasdaq since July. Micron and Sandisk are NAND suppliers, and a Solidigm plant would add new NAND capacity in the US. Shares of both traded higher on the morning of Oct 27, TheFly reported.

What comes next

• SK Hynix reports third-quarter results on Oct 28, with a press release before 9 a.m. Seoul time and a conference call at 9 a.m.
• Solidigm's decision on the US plant depends on Commerce Department permission for the Dalian equipment, and no date for that decision has been reported.