SK Hynix CEO expects AI memory boom to double company’s value

SK HYNIX’S market value is likely to double over the next three years as the company evolves and improves its technology, according to chief executive officer Kwak Noh-jung.

The memory maker became South Korea’s second-most valuable company in December, behind only arch-rival Samsung Electronics, as it benefited from the surge in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) gear. Nvidia’s gold-standard AI accelerators use SK Hynix’s high-bandwidth memory (HBM) extensively, giving it an edge on Samsung and American competitor Micron Technology.

“There are only three HBM providers in the market. What I can say for sure is that SK Hynix is a clear leader in the HBM space,” said Kwak, 58 years old, at the CES tech conference in Las Vegas.

Asked if the company will consider relaxing production cuts it implemented to counter a downturn in memory demand, Kwak said SK Hynix will be flexible, with different strategies for each product.

“For Dram, we may bring a change to the production-cut policy in the first quarter, while the same would apply to Nand past the first half,” he said.

SK Hynix is expected to report holiday-quarter earnings later this month. Samsung on Tuesday (Jan 9) reported its sixth straight quarter of declining operating profit, suggesting that a widely anticipated rebound in demand is yet to fully materialise. BLOOMBERG