South Korea chip hub gets Samsung and SK Hynix backing - eeNews Europe

South Korea has announced a significant semiconductor industry investment initiative to strengthen its chip production capabilities for the artificial intelligence infrastructure market. Samsung Elect... Read original →

South Korea’s 800 trillion KRW fab investment isn’t just capacity scaling—it’s a strategic bet on AI-driven memory architecture shifts. With HBM and CXL redefining server chip stacks, Samsung and SK hynix are embedding DRAM manufacturing deeper into AI infrastructure, forcing equipment and materials suppliers to accelerate EUV and hybrid bonding adoption. Yet under tightening U.S.-led export controls, reliance on foreign lithography tools risks delivery delays and soaring compliance costs. TSMC and other Taiwan, China-based players may counter by expanding CoWoS packaging capacity, while Micron could leverage CHIPS Act subsidies to fast-track U.S.-based HBM output. Over the next 18 months, the memory sector will pivot to a 'capital efficiency' race: whoever achieves HBM4 volume production first and locks in NVIDIA or Microsoft will dictate pricing amid brutal depreciation pressures.