SK chief dismisses peak fears, pledges massive AI push after Nasdaq debut

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won announced plans to invest tens of billions of dollars in AI beyond memory chips, dismissing concerns about a market peak and intensifying competition by pointing to what he called explosive and sustained growth in demand for high bandwidth memory.

Speaking to CNBC shortly after SK hynix's Nasdaq listing on Friday, Chey said the company is pursuing far larger investments than its memory chip business — spanning AI, AI data centers, AI technology and startups.

"I'm looking for larger investments in AI, AI data centers, technologies and startups," he said, putting the expected investment figure at "tens of billions of dollars." "I'm expecting huge investments sooner or later."

Chey argued that the demand dynamics of the semiconductor market have fundamentally changed in the AI era.

On concerns that major U.S. tech companies such as Google and Nvidia might restructure their products to reduce high bandwidth memory (HBM) usage due to cost pressures, he said the exponential surge in overall market demand would more than offset any such shifts.

"I don't really see that there were any shrink signs of the HBM," he said. "So all my partners want more and double up this year's capacity and the next year's and asking to double up the HBM and the conventional DRAM side."

He struck a similarly dismissive tone on Samsung Electronics' push to close the gap in the HBM market, saying demand growth would absorb any competitive pressure.

Asked whether investors in the newly listed SK hynix might be buying at the top of the semiconductor cycle, he pushed back.

"We are in the AI era," he said. "The demand structure is little different."

Unlike the old semiconductor industry, where demand tracked user counts and hardware sales, the AI era requires vast quantities of memory chips.

Chey also addressed long-term supply contracts and U.S. investment plans. On whether price caps would be maintained in three-to-five year supply agreements to reduce chip price volatility, he said contract terms vary by customer.

On the possibility of investing in U.S. semiconductor fabrication facilities beyond the packaging plant in Indiana, Chey said his team is currently reviewing options. While there are no plans beyond the existing $4 billion Indiana commitment, he signaled that additional U.S. investment remains on the table if a suitable location is identified.

On the company's operations in China, he said 70 percent of production is shipped outside the country, with the majority going to US customers, and that SK hynix is in compliance with U.S. export control policy.

Chey described the U.S. listing as a step forward for the company's global standing, and a momentum to build a new governance structure with new U.S. and global shareholders.

On what the Nasdaq listing means to him personally:  "A truly historical moment, and we've been waiting for a long, long time," he said. "SK acquired hynix 15 years ago. So it's kind of a dream come true."

BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]