SK hynix Is Reportedly Discussing U.S. Memory Production With Intel in Ohio

SK hynix is in exploratory discussions with Intel about producing memory chips in the United States, according to a September 16 Reuters report citing three people familiar with the talks. One option under discussion would have SK hynix lease part of Intel’s Ohio One manufacturing site. Another could involve a joint venture between SK hynix, Intel and major cloud companies seeking more secure memory supply.

The important qualifier is that no agreement has been announced. SK hynix told Reuters that it is reviewing options, including additional production bases, to strengthen its memory business but that nothing has been decided. Reuters also could not establish which memory products would be made in Ohio if the discussions produce a deal. Intel declined to comment on the reported negotiations and described the matter as speculation while reiterating that it continues to invest in Ohio.

SK hynix already has a major U.S. memory project underway, but it is not the same manufacturing step. The company broke ground in August on a more than $4 billion facility in West Lafayette, Indiana, where advanced HBM packaging and testing are planned to begin mass production in the second half of 2029. SK hynix says advanced wafers will be produced in Korea and shipped to Indiana for packaging and testing.

That distinction makes the Ohio report significant. A deal that actually moved memory-chip wafer manufacturing into Intel’s Ohio site would extend SK hynix’s U.S. footprint upstream from advanced packaging into front-end semiconductor production. It would not, however, mean that every stage of SK hynix memory production had moved to the United States, and the current reporting does not establish whether the potential Ohio output would be DRAM, NAND, HBM-related memory or another product mix.

Intel’s Ohio One campus in New Albany was announced as a more than $28 billion investment in two leading-edge fabs. Intel’s published construction update says Mod 1 is planned to complete construction in 2030 and begin operations between 2030 and 2031, while Mod 2 is planned to complete in 2031 and begin operations in 2032. Intel also says the site was designed with room for additional fabs and ecosystem partners.

Those dates are useful context, but they are not a schedule for an SK hynix project. Reuters describes the current discussions as exploratory, and there is no announced Ohio memory-production start date, capacity target, capital commitment or final operating structure. A partnership could also alter how parts of the site are used or timed, so the existing Intel schedule should not be presented as a promised SK hynix production date.

Reuters reports that one structure being considered could include large cloud companies that want to secure memory supplies. That fits the current industry pressure around AI infrastructure, where high-bandwidth memory and server DRAM have become strategically important inputs alongside accelerators and networking hardware.

For PC buyers, the connection is indirect rather than immediate. DRAM manufacturers allocate manufacturing investment across several markets, and large data-center demand can influence the broader memory supply environment. But this report does not establish additional consumer DDR5 output, cheaper desktop RAM, more NAND supply, or any near-term change in retail memory pricing. Those conclusions would require a confirmed project, a known product mix, capacity and ramp timing.

Reuters reports that South Korea could review an overseas production plan if it involves technologies designated as national core technologies. The country’s trade ministry said a U.S. production decision is ultimately for SK hynix to make, while noting that technology covered by the Industrial Technology Protection Act can be subject to review.

That is another reason to treat the Ohio discussions as a developing report rather than a settled manufacturing plan. The commercial structure, technology involved, regulatory path and exact products all remain unresolved. The next meaningful evidence would be a formal agreement, site or investment announcement, regulatory filing, or direct manufacturing plan from SK hynix and Intel.