SK hynix starts its Indiana packaging project

SK hynix held a groundbreaking ceremony for its AI memory packaging facility in West Lafayette, Indiana, on 27 August 2026. The planned 133-acre site will contain a high-bandwidth-memory production line and an advanced-packaging research testbed. The company targets U.S. customer deliveries in the second half of 2029, following packaging and testing on site. It signed a research memorandum with Purdue University at the ceremony. Approximately 1,000 employees are expected when production begins.

The initial investment plan

In its 3 April 2024 announcement, SK hynix estimated investment at $3.87 billion. That announcement targeted mass production in the second half of 2028. The proposed research programme included advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration with Purdue's Birck Nanotechnology Center, alongside memory-centred architecture, system-level memory design and computing within or near memory. The company also planned training programmes and interdisciplinary degree curricula with Purdue and Ivy Tech Community College. Those educational partnerships were intended to develop the specialised workforce for the project.

From proposed support to an award

On 6 August 2024, the company announced a non-binding preliminary memorandum with the U.S. Department of Commerce. Proposed support comprised up to $450 million in direct funding and access to $500 million in loans under the CHIPS and Science Act. Separately, it planned to seek an investment tax credit of up to 25% of qualifying capital expenditure from the Treasury Department. The company said it would comply with the remaining procedural requirements before the proposed funding was finalised and continue the planned construction of its Indiana production base.

A 19 December 2024 announcement, preserved by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, recorded a final award after due diligence. Its financing conditions were:

Direct funding of up to $458 million.
Loans of up to $500 million.
Disbursement of direct funding against construction, technology, production and commercial milestones, with financial and programme reports tracking award conditions.

The announcement anticipated approximately 1,000 facility jobs and hundreds of construction jobs. Its research-hub plans connected the manufacturing project with Purdue's work on developing and packaging next-generation high-bandwidth memory.