South Korean memory-chip maker SK Hynix is planning to list in the U.S. this year as it raises funds for investments to meet demand for advanced chips driven by the artificial intelligence boom.
The company, a global leader in high-bandwidth-memory products, said Wednesday that it had filed an application to list American depositary receipts with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A U.S. listing could attract more global investors to help fund the company’s ambitious investment plans. American investors currently have limited access to SK Hynix, with exposure largely confined to over-the-counter trading or exchange-traded funds.
“We are pursuing a listing by the end of 2026, but details such as the size, method, and schedule of the public offering have not yet been finalized,” SK Hynix said in a regulatory filing in Seoul. The final decision on whether to list will be made after the SEC’s review, consideration of market conditions and other relevant factors, it added.
Recent Korean media reports citing unnamed sources have suggested that SK Hynix could raise around $10 billion from a potential U.S. listing. The company declined to comment on details.
SK Hynix has been investing aggressively to capitalize on high-bandwidth-memory chips, which are critical to the AI industry, and previous regulatory filings suggest significant funds will be needed.
The company is building a massive semiconductor manufacturing hub in Yongin, south of Seoul, with an estimated price tag of 600 trillion won, equivalent to around $400 billion. Last month, it announced an additional 22 trillion won investment on the first of four chip-fabrication plants in the Yongin hub, bringing its initial investment to 31 trillion won.
On Tuesday, SK Hynix said it plans to purchase around $8 billion of advanced lithography equipment to manufacture next-generation chips as it ramps up its production capabilities in response to surging demand fueled by artificial intelligence.
SK Hynix has led the high-bandwidth-memory market by developing and supplying HBM3 and HBM3E products to Nvidia ahead of rivals such as Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology.
News of the potential ADR issuance helped lift SK Hynix’s shares by more than 5% in early Seoul trade on Wednesday, beating the benchmark Kospi’s 3% gain.
Nomura analysts earlier this week said they raised their annual operating-profit forecasts for SK Hynix by 36% to 256 trillion won for 2026 and by 37% to 365 trillion won for 2027, citing strong demand from major technology companies because of the AI boom. Supply is unlikely to catch up with demand until early 2028, they added.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at Kwanwoo.Jun@wsj.com