The world's memory chip sector is undergoing a transformation with few modern parallels as relentless demand from AI development triggers a historic repricing of the semiconductor industry.
South Korea's SK Hynix shares surged as much as 13% in Seoul trading on Wednesday, reaching a new all-time high and pushing its market capitalisation above $1 trillion (€860bn) for the first time.
SK Hynix is now only the second South Korean company and the third Asian company overall to enter the trillion-dollar club, following rival Samsung Electronics, which crossed the threshold earlier this month, and Taiwan's TSMC before it.
The firm's shares have now risen approximately 250% since the start of the year, while the stock's gain since April 2025 has exceeded 1,200%.
The milestone arrived a day after Micron Technology soared 19% on Wall Street, its biggest single-session gain since 2011, propelling the American chipmaker past the same valuation mark simultaneously.
