SK Hynix's U.S. subsidiary Solidigm is seeking approval to export additional chipmaking equipment to its facility in Dalian, China, contingent on regulatory clearance to build a new NAND memory factory in America, according to Reuters.
The South Korean chipmaker has linked the two projects in its submission to U.S. authorities, offering a factory investment stateside in exchange for permission to send more production gear to its existing Chinese operation. The Dalian facility, known as Mod B, would receive the equipment if Solidigm obtains the necessary export licenses.
Solidigm, which SK Hynix acquired from Intel in 2024, manufactures NAND flash memory and operates manufacturing sites across multiple regions. The Dalian Mod B plant is one of SK Hynix's significant fabrication centers outside South Korea. The company has not disclosed the value of the proposed U.S. factory investment, the specific equipment slated for export, or a timeline for either project.
U.S. restrictions on semiconductor equipment exports to China have tightened considerably since 2022, following Biden administration orders that curtailed the sale of advanced chip-making tools to Chinese facilities. Companies seeking exceptions must obtain licenses through the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security. SK Hynix's pitch ties access to both U.S. manufacturing capacity and continued operations in China to a single approval decision.
Chipmakers with dual-region operations face mounting pressure to choose between access to U.S. equipment and Chinese market scale. A U.S. factory would position Solidigm to supply domestic customers and potentially reduce reliance on cross-border logistics, while the Dalian facility generates significant revenue for SK Hynix.
Solidigm's move to bundle these requests differs from standalone facility announcements. Other chipmakers have committed to U.S. factory builds without explicit linkage to Chinese operations, though equipment constraints have repeatedly delayed their timelines. SK Hynix's approach makes the Chinese operation an explicit condition rather than a separate business line.
The Commerce Department's approval decision will determine whether Solidigm can proceed with both projects in parallel or must choose between them. If the agency rejects the equipment export license, the company may defer or cancel the U.S. factory plan. The next filing date to watch is whether Solidigm submits detailed capex figures and a factory location by the end of the calendar year.
