South Korea's SK Hynix, a top global memory maker, is negotiating with Intel to produce RAM chips in the United States for the first time, per a Reuters report on Wednesday (16), picked up by TechCrunch. The talks would include the possibility of SK Hynix leasing space at the Ohio plant Intel plans to build.
The companies have weighed various options, according to anonymous sources cited by Reuters. SK Hynix said in a statement that it 'is exploring various options to strengthen its global competitiveness,' but 'no specific plan or arrangement has been finalized at this time.'
The move comes amid geopolitical pressure to shift semiconductor output beyond Asia. The US has offered tax breaks and subsidies to attract chipmakers, especially memory, a critical component for AI servers and data centers.
For infrastructure operators relying on a steady RAM supply, the news hints at a possible easing of Asian supply-chain dependence in the midterm. Still, the talks are at an early stage, with no public timeline for Ohio production.
The Week in Tech sees geographic memory-fabrication diversification as good for supply-chain resilience, but operators shouldn't count on quick timelines. Chip-plant projects take years to materialize, and US volume output remains a hypothetical scenario, not an immediate alternative to Asian supply.