SK Hynix raises $26.5 billion in a record US share sale, plans bigger investments as demand for artificial intelligence keeps growing.
SK Hynix has made history with a massive $26.5 billion share sale in the United States. The South Korean chip maker completed the biggest US stock market listing ever by a foreign company. It sold 177.9 million American depositary shares at $149 each. Trading begins on the Nasdaq on Friday. The company is one of Nvidia’s biggest suppliers, making it a major player in the fast-growing artificial intelligence industry.
SK Hynix’s Huge Successes This Year
The company has enjoyed huge success this year. In May, its market value crossed $1 trillion in South Korea. Its share price has also more than tripled. Samsung Electronics and Micron have recorded similar gains because demand for AI chips keeps rising. Investors rushed into the share sale, with demand reportedly more than seven times the available shares. Each American depositary share represents one-tenth of a common share traded in Seoul. As a result, US investors can now buy SK Hynix shares without using the South Korean stock market.
Experts believe the US listing gives SK Hynix better access to global investors. Seoul National University finance professor Jaewon Choi said traders see the listing as a “yardstick to test the water” for investor interest in memory chip makers. The AI boom has already pushed many companies to raise fresh funds. SpaceX recently made headlines with an $85.7 billion stock market listing. Meanwhile, OpenAI and Anthropic are also preparing to go public with valuations above $1 trillion.
SK Hynix plans to use the fresh funds to strengthen South Korea’s chip and AI industry. The government recently announced plans for more than $880 billion in investments alongside SK Hynix and Samsung. However, Hanyang University business professor Yun Youngjin warned that the Nasdaq listing also carries risks. According to him, investors could shift more money to the US market instead of South Korea. Even so, SK Hynix now joins global tech giants like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and Samsung among companies valued above $1 trillion.
The company’s latest move also shows that the AI race is creating bigger opportunities for businesses and investors worldwide.
