SK Hynix’s $28 Billion U.S. Share Sale Draws Massive Demand Amid AI Chip Boom

SK Hynix’s planned $28 billion U.S. share sale attracted demand worth more than seven times the number of shares available, highlighting strong investor confidence in the South Korean memory chip maker and the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence industry.

According to a person familiar with the transaction, the offering was heavily oversubscribed as investors rushed to gain exposure to one of the world's most important AI semiconductor suppliers. SK Hynix declined to comment, while the source requested anonymity because details of the deal remain confidential.

The capital raised will help SK Hynix expand production capacity by funding new factories and advanced manufacturing equipment, enabling the company to meet soaring demand for AI memory chips. The transaction is expected to become the world's second-largest share sale, following SpaceX's record-breaking $85.7 billion initial public offering last month.

Shares of SK Hynix climbed about 6% in morning trading after news of the strong investor demand emerged. Underwriters are expected to announce pricing after South Korea's stock market closes on Thursday, with share allocations scheduled to be finalized later during U.S. trading hours, according to a separate source.

Although semiconductor stocks have lost some momentum globally in recent weeks, AI-related chipmakers continue to benefit from robust long-term demand driven by the rapid expansion of AI data centers. SK Hynix and rival Samsung Electronics have recorded substantial gains over the past year as companies race to secure high-performance memory chips for next-generation AI applications.

Despite falling roughly 25% over the past two weeks, SK Hynix shares remain up approximately 680% over the last 12 months, reflecting investors' optimism about the company's leadership in the AI memory market.

SK Hynix has emerged as Nvidia's leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a position earned after more than a decade of investment in advanced memory technology. Once viewed as a risky strategy, those long-term investments have placed the company at the center of the global AI boom and strengthened its role in the rapidly growing semiconductor supply chain.

Bloomberg previously reported that the share sale was oversubscribed multiple times.