For years, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (OTC:SSNLF) has used U.S. manufacturing to bring its semiconductor operations closer to American customers. Now SK hynix Inc. (NASDAQ:SKHY) is building a similar footprint—but with a distinctly AI-driven focus.

Its confirmed Indiana investment and reported talks with Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) suggest the memory giant may be moving toward a broader U.S. production strategy as demand for high-bandwidth memory surges.

Samsung’s US Precedent

Samsung’s U.S. manufacturing story began decades before the current AI boom. The company opened its first Austin, Texas, fabrication plant in 1997 and began producing 64Kb DRAM memory chips there in 1998. It later added NAND flash production before transitioning the Austin operation toward logic and foundry manufacturing.

That history matters because SK Hynix is now establishing its own U.S. semiconductor base at a time when Washington and American technology companies are pushing to localize critical chip supply chains.

The company broke ground in August on a more than $4 billion Indiana facility that it calls its first U.S. HBM production base. The plant is expected to begin mass production of next-generation HBM in the second half of 2029 and will include advanced packaging and testing capabilities.

SK Hynix Builds for AI

The distinction between Samsung’s early U.S. strategy and SK Hynix’s current one is crucial: Samsung’s U.S. expansion started when memory was a broader semiconductor business, while SK Hynix is expanding in the U.S. specifically because AI has created huge demand for HBM, a type of memory used alongside AI chips.

SK Hynix says its Indiana operation will create a U.S. hub for next-generation HBM, with production closely integrated with its South Korean operations. That gives the company a confirmed U.S. foothold.

But the next potential step is where Intel enters the picture.

Intel Could Add the Missing Piece

Reuters reported Wednesday that SK Hynix is exploring a potential arrangement with Intel to manufacture memory chips in the U.S., with possibilities including leasing part of Intel’s planned Ohio facility or creating a joint venture involving Intel and major cloud companies. Neither company has confirmed that a deal has been reached.

If pursued, the arrangement could be significant because it would potentially move SK Hynix beyond U.S. HBM packaging and testing toward front-end memory manufacturing. That would create a more extensive domestic production chain while giving Intel another potential use for its delayed Ohio manufacturing footprint.

It would also fit the broader direction of the memory industry. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is investing heavily to expand U.S. DRAM production, while Samsung already has decades of American semiconductor manufacturing experience.

For investors, the bigger takeaway is that AI is changing where memory companies need to build capacity.

SK Hynix’s Indiana investment is already confirmed; the reported Intel talks remain exploratory. But together, they show how the race for AI memory is increasingly becoming a race to build closer to the customers consuming it.

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