SK Hynix Inc. is planning to raise 45.45 trillion won ($29.4 billion) in a landmark US listing, as companies along the artificial intelligence supply chain rush to increase capacity to meet memory chip demand.
At that size and depending on the exchange rate, the deal could be among the top five share sales of all time, comparable with Saudi Aramco’s then-record 2019 initial public offering, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Companies have been raising record amounts to fund the buildout of AI infrastructure in recent months. SpaceX held the largest initial public offering in history earlier this month, while Alphabet Inc. plans to raise $85 billion to fund its AI plans.
And with more mega offerings in the pipeline, the SK Hynix deal will be a test of investor appetite and the market’s ability to absorb such volumes. AI startups Anthropic PBC and OpenAI could both seek to raise tens of billions of dollars as soon as this year.
SK Hynix expects trading to start on July 10, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday. The South Korean company’s shares extended gains in after-market trading following the ADR announcement.
The insatiable demand for memory chips has fueled breakneck rallies in related stocks, with SK Hynix shares listed in Seoul climbing about 300% this year and exceeding $1 trillion in market value. Still, they have also been volatile at times, as investor sentiment on the AI buildout swings between confidence and caution.
SK Hynix and other leading makers of high-bandwidth memory, known as HBM — most notably Samsung Electronics Co. and Micron Technology Inc. — sit at the chokepoint of the global AI buildout, with their products forming a critical bottleneck for data-center expansion. SK Hynix controlled 57% of the global market share by revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to data from Counterpoint Research. The firm, however, trades at a discount to Micron.
“The outperformance of SK Hynix reflects its early move in the HBM competition and the strong demand for its HBM chip,” said Indrani De, global head of investment research at FTSE Russell. “Supply shortages in HBM where Korean firms dominate with 80% market share, are expected to last for years.”
The company intends to use the proceeds for the building of additional capacity and buying extreme ultraviolet lithography, or EUV, machines, according to its regulatory filing.
A US listing would give the company access to a fresh pool of investors and could help SK Hynix narrow a gap in its valuation compared with its competitors. Asian issuers that have already been listed in the US include Taiwanese chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. TSMC’s US listing enabled it to tap into foreign investor flows, cementing its status as a US investor favorite — particularly as part of the AI-driven rally.
“A large part of the motivation behind this is no doubt the success of TSMC ADR which is very liquid, trades at a persistent premium to the Taiwan line and is accessed readily by globally investors,” said Jon Withaar, a portfolio manager at Pictet Asset Management in Singapore.
While rallies have been very strong over the past year, concerns are mounting about how much longer the good times can last. Semiconductor stocks around the world tumbled on Tuesday following a report out of South Korea that SK Hynix is slowing expansion of AI memory chip production.
Read more: Micron Earnings Take on New Gravity With Market on Edge Over AI
SK Hynix’s operating profit for the first quarter jumped to 37.61 trillion won, a record high that compares with the average estimate by analysts for 35.7 trillion won. Sales nearly tripled to 52.58 trillion won.
“While we might see some sell on the news, the news is overall positive for SK Hynix,” said Kevin Net, head of Asian equities at Financière de l’Echiquier. “The listing will help SK Hynix receive more funding for further investment, and it will also drive higher probability for more shareholders return and reduce valuation discount to Micron.”
The offering is being led by Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.