SK Hynix wants its own advanced packaging plant in the US. The memory chip maker is looking at building a 2.5D packaging facility in Indiana. This move directly challenges TSMC and aims to fix a big hole in the American supply chain. Right now, the US has no major facility for advanced packaging like CoWoS, even with TSMC's investments. SK Hynix plans to build this factory to boost its production of high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, for clients like NVIDIA. They will not go it alone and are expected to form a joint venture with a packaging partner.
This 2.5D packaging is critical for stacking HBM modules next to processors using a silicon interposer. TSMC's CoWoS tech has handled this for SK Hynix before, but supply is tight. The Korean firm also cannot get that advanced packaging done locally for its US operations. Building stateside lines solves both problems. SK Hynix does not have the full capability to run these complex facilities by itself, so a partnership is necessary.
Potential collaborators include a company like Amkor, which has helped set up other US packaging sites, or Intel Foundry with its EMIB packaging technology. The exact partnership details remain unclear. This whole play is about securing control over a bottleneck process as demand for HBM, driven by AI and GPUs, goes through the roof.
This 2.5D packaging is critical for stacking HBM modules next to processors using a silicon interposer. TSMC's CoWoS tech has handled this for SK Hynix before, but supply is tight. The Korean firm also cannot get that advanced packaging done locally for its US operations. Building stateside lines solves both problems. SK Hynix does not have the full capability to run these complex facilities by itself, so a partnership is necessary.
Potential collaborators include a company like Amkor, which has helped set up other US packaging sites, or Intel Foundry with its EMIB packaging technology. The exact partnership details remain unclear. This whole play is about securing control over a bottleneck process as demand for HBM, driven by AI and GPUs, goes through the roof.
