SK Hynix and Intel in Talks on US Semiconductor Manufacturing Deal

If completed, a deal would mark the first time SK Hynix produces memory chips on US soil, placing it at the center of ongoing federal efforts to expand domestic semiconductor capacity.

SK Hynix, the South Korean memory chip manufacturer, is in preliminary discussions with Intel about a potential agreement that would result in SK Hynix manufacturing memory chips inside the United States for the first time, according to a Reuters report published September 16, 2026. SK Hynix confirmed awareness of the report but stated it has made no decisions, according to Bloomberg.

Intel was the most actively traded stock in premarket trading on September 16, 2026, following the Reuters report, according to the same Bloomberg coverage. The financial terms of any potential agreement, including valuation, equity structure, or revenue-sharing arrangements, are not known at this time. The document that would reveal those terms is a definitive merger or manufacturing agreement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission or disclosed in an Intel or SK Hynix regulatory filing.

The talks, if they advance, would involve Intel's US fabrication infrastructure. Intel operates domestic semiconductor fabrication plants, known as fabs, in Arizona and Ohio, among other locations. Intel has received federal support for domestic manufacturing under the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which authorized $52.7 billion in federal subsidies and incentives for US semiconductor production, as recorded in the Congressional Record for the 117th Congress.

SK Hynix is currently the world's second-largest producer of dynamic random-access memory chips and a leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory used in artificial intelligence processors. The company's primary manufacturing operations are based in South Korea. Any shift of production to the United States would represent a structural change in the company's global manufacturing footprint.

The potential deal lands against a backdrop of sustained federal legislative and executive action aimed at reducing US dependence on foreign-produced semiconductors. The CHIPS Act, signed into law in August 2022, was explicitly designed to attract foreign chipmakers to establish or expand US manufacturing operations. The Commerce Department has administered CHIPS Act grant awards, and its public award announcements constitute the primary public record of which companies have received commitments.

Intel separately has faced financial pressure in recent quarters. The company reported a net loss of $1.6 billion in the second quarter of 2025, as disclosed in its quarterly earnings filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A manufacturing partnership with SK Hynix could generate revenue for Intel's foundry services division, which seeks to produce chips for third-party customers. Whether the reported talks involve Intel's foundry business specifically is not confirmed in available public records.

Bain Capital Ventures announced on the same date, September 16, 2026, that it had raised $1.6 billion for a new fund focused on artificial intelligence startups, according to Bloomberg. High-bandwidth memory chips, of the kind SK Hynix produces, are a key hardware input for AI model training and inference. That connection makes the semiconductor supply chain a point of intersection between venture capital investment in AI and federal industrial policy, though the direct relationship between the Bain Capital fund and the Intel-SK Hynix talks is not established in available records.

Congress has maintained oversight interest in semiconductor supply chain policy. The Senate Commerce Committee and House Science, Space, and Technology Committee have each held hearings on CHIPS Act implementation. Committee hearing transcripts are part of the Congressional Record and constitute the primary public source for legislative scrutiny of the program.

For context, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world's largest contract chipmaker, announced plans in 2022 to build facilities in Arizona with partial federal support. TSMC's US investment has been cited in Commerce Department disclosures as a benchmark for attracting allied-nation chipmakers to domestic production.

Several material facts remain unknown. It is not confirmed which Intel facilities would be involved in any SK Hynix manufacturing arrangement. The scale of potential production, measured in wafer starts per month or chip output volume, has not been disclosed. Whether any arrangement would involve CHIPS Act funding is unknown. The document that would answer those questions is a formal agreement between the two companies, filed with the SEC, or a Commerce Department grant announcement naming SK Hynix as a recipient.