AI boom pushes SK Hynix toward $1 trillion market valuation

SK Hynix, a major global producer of memory chips, is expanding business valuation through AI boom.

The chip manufacturing company is on the verge of topping a $1 ‌trillion market value, just weeks after Samsung Electronics crossed the milestone, as strong demand for artificial intelligence places South Korea at the heart of Asia's AI boom.

Samsung's rival SK Hynix shares have risen more than 200% this year, after rising an eye-watering 274% in 2025, driven by AI-related demand for both conventional memory chips and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI servers.

Valued at less than $100 billion just 16 months ago, SK Hynix's market capitalization stood at roughly $94.2 billion at the close of trading on Thursday.

If SK Hynix reaches the milestone, South Korea will become the first country outside the United States to have more than one trillion-dollar company. Taiwan's TSMC remains Asia's biggest company by market value at over $1.83 trillion.

The three chipmakers and their record earnings have put the spotlight on their critical role in the global AI supply chain, in contrast to Silicon Valley companies whose heavy spending on chips and technology makes them riskier bets.

On Thursday, SK Hynix shares closed down 0.3%, while the broader KOSPI ended up 1.75% at 7,981.41. The index has been on a tear, up more than 86% this year after soaring 75% in 2025 in its strongest annual performance since 1999.

KB Securities raised its year-end target for ‌KOSPI, the best-performing major stock market in the world since the start of 2025, by 40% to 10,500 points.

"My theory is that the market is running on FOMO sentiments, especially on AI-related names in Japan and Korea," said Fabien Yip, market analyst at IG in Sydney, referring to investors' "fear of missing out" on potential returns.