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SK hynix

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The South Korean firm SK Hynix produces DRAM and flash memory chips.[1] Along with Samsung Electronics and Micron, SK Hynix is counted among the "Big Three" memory manufacturers and ranks as a top global semiconductor vendor.[1]

Key facts and history

The company began in 1983 under the name Hyundai Electronics and, after a sequence of mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring, became part of the SK Group in 2012.[2] Hyundai's strategy of acting as a foundry for foreign firms through OEM agreements proved effective for its memory chip manufacturing.[3] A new name, Hynix Semiconductor, was adopted by Hyundai Electronics in 2001; the word "Hynix" combines "high" and "electronics".[4] The Hyundai Group formally separated from Hynix through a spinoff that occurred in August 2003.[5]

SK Telecom paid US$3 billion to acquire Hynix in February 2012, after which the entity was renamed SK Hynix.[6] Intel's NAND business was purchased by Hynix for $9 billion in 2021, which led to the creation of Solidigm.[7] An operating profit of $25 billion was recorded by the company in the first quarter of 2026.[8]

What the cited sources add

A Tom's Hardware article from January 2026 reports that the three major memory chip manufacturers, including SK hynix, are becoming stricter when it comes to chip orders.[9] A GoNintendo article from 2023 reports that Hynix NAND chips used in the Wii U are dying much quicker than those from Samsung or Toshiba.[10] A 2014 Korea Herald article notes that SK hynix, as the best-performing affiliate of the SK Group, retained its current CEO Park Sung-wook.[11] According to the same article, SK Hynix prefers to sell to large firms such as Apple or Samsung, as well as AI companies like OpenAI, because those sales yield higher profits.[12]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "SK Hynix" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lee, "SK Hynix sinks to loss on oversupply, weak demand", AP News, 26 July 2012; "Gartner Says Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue Grew 1.1% in 2022", Gartner, 2023-01-17; Morales, "Big three memory chip manufacturers policing customers to prevent hoarding — employee says industry relationships ‘matter in a crunch’", Tom's Hardware, 30 January 2026 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "SK Hynix" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Seo, "SK appoints young CEOs", The Korea Herald, December 9, 2014 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "SK Hynix" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kim, "Making a Semiconductor Superpower", CRC Press, September 29, 2023; "Maxtor Drives Hard", Forbes, November 21, 2001 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "SK Hynix" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Hyundai Electronics to Be Renamed Hynix", The New York Times, March 9, 2001; McCarthy, "Hyundai renames and dumps everything but chip business", The Register, 8 March 2001; "Hyundai Electronics to Be Renamed Hynix", The New York Times, March 9, 2001; Moon, "Local buyouts burdened", Korea Joongang Daily, October 23, 2003; Robertson, "Hynix to sell holding in CDMA company for $44.7 million", EE Times, January 23, 2022; LaPedus, "Hynix profits up 115% in Q3", EE Times, October 13, 2005; "Hynix to sell shares in flat panel display company", EE Ti en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "SK Hynix" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kim, "Chung, Affiliates to Bow Out To Ease Separation of Hynix", Korea JoongAng Daily, January 5, 2003; Rhee, "Hynix Says Government Has Cleared Its Separation From Parent Hyundai", The Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2001 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "SK Hynix" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Park, "SK Telecom picked for $3 bln Hynix deal", Reuters, November 11, 2011; Lee, "SK Telecom to Buy Hynix Stake for $3.04 Billion", The Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2011; "Hynix names Chey as co-CEO as SK completes $3 billion deal", Reuters, February 14, 2012; Clarke, "Hynix name change reflects SK investment", EE Times, March 23, 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "SK Hynix" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "South Korea's SK Hynix to buy Intel's NAND business for $9 billion", uk.reuters.com, 2020-10-20; Anderson, "Intel spinoff Solidigm to open Rancho Cordova R&D office, lab", American City Business Journals, 24 May 2022; Joseph F. Kovar, "Solidigm CEO: Spinning Out of Intel To SK Hynix 'Gives Us The Greater Scale We Need'", CRN, 24 January 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "SK Hynix" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: SK Hynix sets record as quarterly profit jumps five-fold, says AI chip demand exceeds capacity (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Morales, "Big three memory chip manufacturers policing customers to prevent hoarding — employee says industry relationships ‘matter in a crunch’", Tom's Hardware, 30 January 2026. facts only, no text reused. tomshardware.com
  10. rawmeatcowboy, "Reports of Wii U units dying could be due to a specific chip manufacturer", GoNintendo, 2023-03-19. facts only, no text reused. gonintendo.com
  11. Seo, "SK appoints young CEOs", The Korea Herald, December 9, 2014. facts only, no text reused. koreaherald.com
  12. Wikipedia, "SK Hynix" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Morales, "Big three memory chip manufacturers policing customers to prevent hoarding — employee says industry relationships ‘matter in a crunch’", Tom's Hardware, 30 January 2026 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article SK Hynix (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. Who founded SK hynix?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Chung Ju-yung.

2. In what year was SK hynix founded?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1983.

3. In which city is SK hynix headquartered?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is South Korea.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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