South Korean company SK hynix has received a grant of up to $450 million from the US government to develop advanced packaging facilities in America. This funding is provided under the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, aimed at supporting both domestic and international companies in building new semiconductor manufacturing plants in the US or expanding existing facilities.
This development is particularly significant given the global semiconductor supply shortage driven by the rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products. SK hynix produces memory for AI graphics processors and other devices. The grant will complement the company’s $3.87 billion investment in building a new plant in Indiana.
The CHIPS Act has already allocated billions of dollars to support companies like Intel, TSMC, and Samsung, which are the top three grant recipients. Micron, another major memory manufacturer, is in fourth place. SK hynix’s investment in the Indiana plant played a crucial role in securing the grant.
The new SK hynix plant in Indiana will focus on producing high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which is critical for developing AI chips. The company will collaborate with Purdue University on research, development, and mass production of next-generation HBM chips.
US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo highlighted that the CHIPS funding is helping the US become a leading hub for advanced semiconductors: “Investments in companies like SK hynix will enable the United States to become the only country where every company capable of producing advanced chips will have both large-scale manufacturing and significant research and development resources.”
In addition to grants for memory and processor production, the Department of Commerce is also investing in materials used in chip manufacturing. SK hynix’s partner, Absolics, received $75 million in May for the development of next-generation glass substrates. These substrates, which are simpler to manufacture and offer better performance compared to organic materials, will be used in defense-related chips.
