The South Korean semiconductor company SK hynix, famous for producing high-bandwidth memory chips, plans to secure about $28 billion (€24.5bn) through a Wall Street offering, an amount only exceeded by SpaceX's recent record listing.

This marks an extraordinary turnaround for a company that once relied on workforce reductions and asset disposals to stay afloat.

Pricing is set for Thursday, with trading anticipated to start on Friday under the ticker SKHY.

SK hynix will issue 17.79 million new shares as American depositary receipts (ADRs), each equating to a tenth of a Seoul-listed share, while cornerstone investors such as Baillie Gifford and funds managed by Coatue Management have indicated interest in as much as $7 billion (€6.1bn) of the stock.

The goal was reduced from an initial $29.6 billion (€25.9bn) following recent share price declines.

ADRs function as certificates traded on a US exchange that represent shares held overseas, allowing American investors to access a foreign firm without handling foreign currency or markets.

Unlike a standard initial public offering, this does not represent SK hynix's first stock market entry. Its main listing stays on Seoul's Kospi index, and the Nasdaq step merely provides a second, dollar-based route for investors seeking exposure.

The listing comes as the company already exceeds $1 trillion (€876bn) in value, a mark also reached by competitors Samsung Electronics and Micron, following a rise of more than 200% this year.

Funds will support new fabrication facilities, primarily a large complex in Yongin, along with its initial US packaging plant in Indiana.

The decision partly addresses valuation. Korean-listed chipmakers have historically traded at a discount to US peers, and a Nasdaq presence provides an opportunity to narrow that difference.

The AI memory boom - and the risks

The AI expansion has reshaped industry dynamics.

With hyperscalers investing hundreds of billions in data centres, memory prices have surged, as DRAM rose 44% and NAND flash climbed 53% in one quarter per Citi Research, and producers have already committed most of their 2026 output.

SK hynix posted first-quarter revenue over 50 trillion won (€29bn) and operating margins above 70%, results rare for a chipmaker, while holding roughly 60% of the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market according to Counterpoint Research.

Still, the moment carries caution.

Memory remains a fiercely cyclical sector. The AI-led upswing that revived SK hynix has started to falter as chip stocks dropped sharply across Asia last week, and Samsung shed more than $100 billion (€87.5bn) in market value even after reporting record earnings.

Investors increasingly question whether the enormous spending on AI infrastructure will deliver returns, an issue the Bank for International Settlements highlighted in late June by cautioning that the surge could trigger the next financial crisis.

Built, broken and rebuilt

Such worries are familiar to SK hynix.

SK hynix originates from Gukdo Construction, established in 1949, which entered electronics in 1983 as Hyundai Electronics, part of the Hyundai group.

The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s brought severe challenges. Under an IMF-supported overhaul of the Korean economy, Hyundai took over rival LG's semiconductor operations, forming a large entity that soon struggled with heavy debts.

Recovery unfolded gradually.

Renamed Hynix Semiconductor in 2001, a blend of "high" and "electronics", the business reduced staff, sold assets and separated from Hyundai. Earnings recovered, yet the sharp fluctuations of the DRAM sector kept it vulnerable.

Lacking sufficient capital, it was acquired in 2012 by the telecoms group SK Group, becoming SK hynix. The acquisition proved pivotal. SK Group invested heavily in high-bandwidth memory, at the time an expensive and unprofitable area few trusted.

Today it stands as the most sought-after resource in AI computing. The company now employs nearly 46,900 people.