SK hynix set to build autonomous chip plant by 2030 amid booming AI demand
Doh Seung-yong, head of digital transformation at SK hynix, speaking during a panel session at the ongoing GTC 2026 in San Jose, California, Tuesday (local time). Courtesy of SK hynix
SK hynix Inc. said it plans to establish an autonomous semiconductor manufacturing facility by 2030 to boost production capacity as it seeks to meet surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips.
"I think the biggest challenge today is that AI demand is growing very fast, but semiconductor manufacturing cannot expand at the same speed," Doh Seung-yong, head of digital transformation at SK hynix, said during a panel session at the ongoing GTC 2026 in San Jose, California, on Tuesday (local time).
He said SK hynix is expanding capacity in South Korea and the United States to keep up with demand, but building more fabs is not the only solution.
"New fabs take a long time to build and to ramp up. So we have to do two things at the same time: expand capacity and improve productivity in existing fabs," he said. "That is why SK hynix is moving toward an autonomous fab by 2030."
He did not elaborate on the facility's location but said SK hynix is using Nvidia's Omniverse platform, an open platform for virtual collaboration and real-time simulation.