SK hynix broke ground this week on a $4 billion high-bandwidth memory packaging plant in West Lafayette, Indiana, marking the first facility of its kind in the United States.
Tom's Hardware reported on the groundbreaking ceremony for the facility, which will specialize in advanced packaging, testing, and research and development for high-bandwidth memory (HBM).
High-bandwidth memory provides the ultra-fast data transfer speeds required by advanced artificial intelligence accelerators, including graphics processing units from Nvidia. No HBM modules are currently assembled on American soil.
The South Korean chipmaker expects to open the cleanroom by October 2028 and begin volume production of next-generation HBM in the second half of 2029. That schedule represents a delay of roughly one year compared to the company's initial plans. When fully operational, the plant will employ around 1,000 workers.
Packaging and supply chains
The Indiana site will not fabricate raw DRAM wafers. Instead, SK hynix will package finished HBM stacks using DRAM wafers manufactured in South Korea alongside base dies sourced from South Korea, Taiwan, or the United States. SK hynix plans to market these units as its first American-made next-generation HBM products. Assembling memory stacks closer to American clients also aims to reduce turnaround times as demand for custom memory increases.
Research and development
A dedicated Advanced Packaging R&D Testbed will operate next to the primary production lines. This testing site will let the company create prototypes and test packaging methods alongside customers, university researchers, and commercial partners.
SK hynix also signed a memorandum of understanding with Purdue University to collaborate on advanced packaging and system integration research. Company chief executive Kwak Noh-Jung said at the event that the Indiana facility will serve as a gateway to supply the first American-packaged HBM hardware to domestic customers.
