SK Hynix has become the latest chipmaker to ride the AI infrastructure boom into trillion-dollar territory.
The South Korean memory chip maker crossed the $1 trillion market-value threshold for the first time on Wednesday, joining rivals Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology in a rally fueled by booming demand for artificial intelligence hardware.
SK Hynix shares closed 9.3% higher after surging nearly 15% during trading, pushing the company’s valuation above 1,600 trillion won, according to Reuters. The jump makes SK Hynix one of only a handful of Asian companies ever to pass the $1 trillion milestone.
The rally comes as AI companies race to secure advanced memory chips for data centers and AI accelerators, especially those tied to Nvidia.
AI demand reshapes the chip industry
Demand for high-end memory chips used in AI systems, especially those powering Nvidia-based data centers, has tightened supply and pushed prices higher across the industry. Memory chip prices reportedly doubled in the first quarter and are expected to rise further as AI data center expansion continues to strain global supply chains.
The result has been a sharp boost in earnings expectations for major memory makers, who are now benefiting from both higher prices and long-term supply shortages. The surge is not limited to SK Hynix. Samsung Electronics reached the trillion-dollar milestone earlier in May, while Micron crossed it this week after a jump in its share price.
Together, the three companies dominate the advanced memory chip market that feeds the AI infrastructure boom.
SK Hynix has been a standout performer, with its shares more than tripling over the past year in some reports, reflecting investor expectations that demand will continue to outpace supply for years. Analysts say the sector is now sitting at a critical bottleneck in the global AI buildout, giving leading suppliers unusual pricing power.
South Korea’s market surge
The rally has also transformed South Korea’s wider stock market. The KOSPI index surged as much as 5% in a single session, hitting record highs and briefly triggering a trading “sidecar” mechanism that pauses algorithmic trading during extreme volatility.
At one point, SK Hynix and Samsung alone accounted for roughly half of the index’s market value, underscoring how dominant semiconductor stocks have become in the country’s equity market. So far this year, the KOSPI has nearly doubled, making it one of the strongest-performing major indices globally.
Analyst outlook: More upside, but risks remain
Despite the rapid gains, analysts remain divided on how far the rally can go. Some see structural strength driven by multi-year AI infrastructure spending, with demand expected to exceed supply well into the next several years.
Others warn that the momentum is heavily dependent on sustained AI capital spending, and any slowdown could trigger sharp reversals. Still, investor sentiment remains firmly bullish, with multiple brokerages sharply raising price targets for SK Hynix and peers.
The boom also raises a harder question for policymakers: how to control the flow of AI hardware once it becomes this valuable. For more on that challenge, read TechRepublic’s coverage of how banned Nvidia AI chips are still reaching China despite US export controls.
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