SK Hynix nears $1-trillion as AI boom lifts Korean chips

By Heekyong Yang and Gregor Stuart Hunter

Seoul — SK Hynix is on the verge of topping $1-trillion in market value, just weeks after Samsung Electronics crossed the milestone, as strong demand places South Korea at the heart of Asia’s AI boom.

SK Hynix shares have risen more than 200% this year, after rising an eye-watering 274% in 2025, driven by AI-related demand for both conventional memory chips and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI servers.

Valued at less than $100bn just 16 months ago, SK Hynix’s market capitalisation stood at roughly $942bn at the close of trading on Thursday.

If SK Hynix reaches the milestone, South Korea will become the first country outside the US to have more than one trillion-dollar company. Taiwan’s TSMC remains Asia’s biggest company by market value at over $1.83-trillion.