SK Hynix Reportedly Ties New US Chip Factory Plan to China Equipment Approvals

South Korea's SK Hynix is seeking US government approval to export additional American chipmaking equipment to its Dalian, China facility as a condition for building a new NAND flash memory factory in the US, according to people familiar with the matter. SK Hynix's US subsidiary, Solidigm, has applied for an export license to install tools from US suppliers including Lam Research, Applied Materials, and KLA into an unfinished fab space called Mod B in Dalian, which was built in 2023. NAND flash memory pricing has increased sevenfold since mid-2023 amid AI and cloud data center demand, and sources state that expanded Chinese output would provide a production bridge and help fund the multi-billion-dollar US facility. In 2025, the US Commerce Department revoked prior equipment exemptions for SK Hynix and Samsung in China and later issued a 2026 license for Dalian that capped equipment quantities, while a 2027 license has not yet been granted. Solidigm is also weighing an initial public offering as early as 2027 to raise capital for the proposed US plant, while SK Hynix separately holds talks with Intel to lease part of its Ohio chipmaking site.