SK hynix has advanced the start-up schedule of its next-generation semiconductor production base, placing a major bet in the high bandwidth memory (HBM) competition. SK hynix plans to move up by two months the installation of equipment in the second cleanroom of its “M15X” plant under construction in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, and thereby enter a race to accelerate HBM supply.

According to the semiconductor industry on the 23rd, SK hynix recently opened the second cleanroom of M15X and began bringing in equipment. This is two months earlier than the original plan of May, meaning that both cleanrooms at M15X have now entered the preparation phase for operation. Opening a cleanroom in a semiconductor plant indicates that high-value equipment is being installed to prepare for actual chip production, signifying that full-scale mass production is imminent.

The first cleanroom at M15X was opened in October last year, equipment was installed, and wafers have been loaded since last month. Considering that it takes three to four months from the first wafer input to the completion of finished products, mass-produced products are expected to come out of the first cleanroom as early as the first half (January–June) of this year. Once equipment installation for the second cleanroom at M15X is completed and mass production begins, and when M15X reaches a 100% utilization rate, SK hynix is projected to be able to additionally produce up to 90,000 12‑inch wafers per month in DRAM capacity.

M15X is a new DRAM production base expanded from the existing M15 plant, into which SK hynix has invested about KRW 20 trillion. The DRAM produced here will be primarily used for HBM production. SK hynix plans to use M15X to respond to demand for next-generation HBM until completion of the first fab at the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster in 2027. It also plans to build a new back-end testing facility for semiconductor products near M15X to respond to demand for advanced semiconductors.

The decision by SK hynix to move up the opening of the second cleanroom at M15X by two months was made to respond quickly to the surge in global memory semiconductor demand driven by the spread of artificial intelligence (AI). SK hynix has also decided to advance the opening of the cleanroom at the first fab of the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster in Gyeonggi Province from May 2027 to February of the same year, three months earlier.

SK hynix expects structural growth in demand for advanced memory semiconductors due to the expansion of AI, data centers, and high-performance computing (HPC) industries. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won told reporters on the 16th (local time) at NVIDIA’s annual developer conference “GTC 2026,” held at the San Jose Convention Center in California, United States, that he expects the global memory semiconductor supply shortage to continue until 2030.

Industry sources say SK hynix’s decision to advance the opening of M15X’s second cleanroom also reflects the judgment that rapid expansion of production capacity is crucial to the battle for market leadership. Having recently ceded the No. 1 spot in DRAM market share to Samsung Electronics, SK hynix faces the urgent task of expanding capacity. According to market research firm Omdia, Samsung Electronics recaptured the top position in the global DRAM market in the fourth quarter (October–December) of last year with DRAM revenue of USD 19.156 billion (about KRW 27.7475 trillion). In the same period, SK hynix’s DRAM revenue was USD 17.226 billion (about KRW 24.9519 trillion), placing it in second position.

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