SK Hynix stock (SKHY) rose 4.6% on August 17 after reports that Singapore’s Temasek Holdings plans to invest in the South Korean chipmaker, marking a fresh catalyst in a volatile month for the AI memory leader.
The rebound follows a turbulent period for SKHY since late July, when the company announced its landmark $500 billion AI infrastructure partnership with Nvidia. Despite the scale of that deal, the stock fell roughly 9% to 10% intraday on July 27, as traders took profits in crowded AI names and worried about stretched sector valuations, according to Timothy Sykes reporting.
The Nvidia partnership, announced on July 24-25, locks SK Hynix in as a long-term supplier of next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for the chipmaker’s AI systems and data centers. According to CNBC, Nvidia said it secured AI memory supply from SK Hynix as the chipmaker tries to lock in a key component for its advanced processors, with the agreement potentially worth $500 billion over a number of years. The deal includes construction of large-scale data centers expected to come online in 2027, with enough capacity to require 2 gigawatts of power, indicating a massive buildout with hundreds of thousands of graphics processing units.
Since the initial sell-off, SKHY has steadily recovered. The stock rallied 3.2% after the company announced it would resume construction of its second NAND plant in Dalian, China, targeting about a 50% output boost, signaling management confidence in the memory cycle. That move was followed by the Temasek report, which sent the stock climbing further.
Temasek’s reported interest is significant because it marks the Singapore sovereign wealth fund’s first planned entry into the South Korean stock market. According to Bloomberg, the state fund plans to invest directly in SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, with shares briefly extending gains to more than 8% on the news. The report came as risk appetite returned after the previous month’s market rout, and when deep-pocketed capital leans into a name like SKHY, traders pay attention.
SK Hynix is also expected to announce large, long-term memory supply contracts with major U.S. tech firms during South Korea’s president’s visit to San Francisco, according to Timothy Sykes reporting. That hints at a growing roster of blue-chip AI and cloud customers just as the market is re-rating the entire memory space. SK Hynix is the leader in HBM production, according to CNBC, and the company’s role in the global AI infrastructure buildout has cemented its position as a critical player in the sector despite the near-term volatility.
Sources
- Timothy Sykes — SKHY stock movement, Temasek investment report, Nvidia deal announcement, Dalian plant announcement, expected U.S. contracts
- Bloomberg — Temasek investment plan, Samsung and SK Hynix share gains, August 11-12 report
- CNBC — Nvidia-SK Hynix $500 billion AI deal, HBM memory supply, SK Hynix leadership in HBM production, data center capacity details
- Reuters — Nvidia and SK Group AI partnership announcement, $500 billion initiative details
