SK Hynix has raised $26.5 billion in its U.S. market debut, marking the largest initial public offering by a foreign company in American history.
The South Korean memory chip giant sold 177.9 million American depositary shares at $149 each on Friday. This structure allows U.S. investors to enter the market at roughly a tenth of the cost of a full share traded in Seoul. The deal surpassed Alibaba’s $25 billion IPO from 2014.
Trading began on the Nasdaq on Friday, July 10, under the temporary ticker SKHYV. Regular trading opens Monday, July 13, when the ticker becomes SKHY. Shares opened 14% above the IPO price and continued to rise in early Friday trading.
The company priced its U.S. offering at a 2.7% premium to its three-day average on the Korea Stock Exchange. Reports indicate demand exceeded available shares by more than seven times.
Historically, Korean companies have traded at a discount to their global peers. Factors such as complex corporate governance, low shareholder returns, regulatory uncertainty, and geopolitical risks related to North Korea often explain why these firms command lower share prices.
SK Hynix does not suffer from this valuation gap. The firm manufactures memory chips, including high-bandwidth memory, which is a key component of AI GPU processors. Nvidia relies on SK Hynix as one of its primary suppliers.
According to its filing, the raised capital will fund three initiatives. First, a new fab in South Korea is under construction to address the global memory shortage caused by AI demand. Second, the company will build a new packaging facility in the same country. Third, it will purchase EUV scanners, the machines required to make next-generation chips.
Meanwhile, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick visited a Micron event on Thursday. He sent a message to the broader chip industry, not just Micron, which is one of SK Hynix’s biggest competitors. Lutnick stated he was already in talks with Samsung and SK Hynix about building new factories in the United States. The goal is to prevent South Korea from continuing to dominate this technology sector.
Micron has agreed to the plan. The company announced it intends to invest $250 billion in new U.S. manufacturing. This commitment is expected to create more than 90,000 jobs and keep leading-edge chip production on American soil.
The timing of Lutnick’s request stands out beyond this specific IPO. Both major Korean chipmakers recently pledged more than $550 billion for new manufacturing investment in South Korea.
What it means
For engineers and designers, the immediate change is access to new hardware supply chains. SK Hynix is expanding capacity to meet the demand for memory needed in AI systems. If the company builds new U.S. fabs as urged by officials, engineers will eventually have more local options for components, reducing reliance on overseas shipping. Right now, the focus remains on securing the chips that power current AI models.
