SK Hynix, South Korean manufacturer of memory chips and key supplier to Nvidia, announced that it will seek to raise up to US$29.4 billion with an initial public offering in the United States. The operation aims to attract investor interest in companies linked to artificial intelligence.
According to Reuters, the company plans to list on the Nasdaq after becoming the most valuable company in South Korea, surpassing Samsung Electronics. The operation would also take place ahead of the anticipated IPOs of Anthropic and OpenAI.
Why SK Hynix wants to list on the Nasdaq
The company believes that listing on the Nasdaq will allow the market to evaluate it with parameters similar to those of Micron, one of its main competitors in the United States.
This change could favor a higher valuation and also impact the price of its shares traded in South Korea.
If the operation is completed for the expected amount, it will be the second largest stock sale in the world. It would only be behind the public offering of SpaceX, which reached US$85.7 billion this month, and would surpass those made by Saudi Aramco in 2019 and Alibaba in 2014.
How SK Hynix surpassed Samsung
The memory manufacturer became the company with the highest market value in South Korea, displacing Samsung Electronics, which had held that position since 2000.
The change reflects the growth in global demand for components for artificial intelligence and the role that SK Hynix plays within the supply chain of Nvidia, Google, and other AI system developers.
