SK Hynix’s U.S. subsidiary Solidigm is reportedly preparing an initial public offering as early as next year. Three sources familiar with the plan said the offering could value the Rancho Cordova, California‑based unit at up to $150 billion and raise roughly $15 billion in new capital.
IPO process moves forward
Solidigm has already held pitch meetings with several investment banks competing for roles on the deal, a process known in finance as a “bake‑off.” The sources said the meetings indicate a concrete step toward what could become the largest semiconductor listing in U.S. history.
The company’s leadership has not commented publicly on the potential offering, and SK Hynix declined to comment when approached for a statement.
Strategic background
SK Hynix acquired Intel’s NAND memory and solid‑state‑drive business in 2020 for about $9 billion, merging those assets with Solidigm, which was launched as a standalone subsidiary in 2021. The acquisition was intended to strengthen SK Hynix’s position in the global memory market and expand its enterprise SSD portfolio.
Solidigm supplies high‑capacity SSDs for servers, cloud infrastructure and data‑center applications. The unit has focused on products designed for artificial‑intelligence workloads, where massive data volumes demand fast, reliable storage.
Potential impact
A valuation of up to $150 billion would dwarf recent semiconductor IPOs, such as Arm Holdings’ roughly $54 billion debut in 2023 and Cerebras Systems’ about $56 billion valuation in its 2026 offering.
Analysts note that the proposed IPO could tap strong investor demand for companies tied to AI infrastructure, a sector that has driven gains across semiconductor and hardware stocks.
Future expansion plans
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Solidigm is exploring the construction of a new NAND flash memory chip factory in the United States, with upstate New York emerging as a leading candidate. The move would further expand domestic manufacturing capacity and align with broader U.S. goals to increase semiconductor production on‑shore.
Last month, SK Hynix indicated it was considering measures to boost Solidigm’s competitiveness after reports that the unit was evaluating a pre‑IPO fundraising round of about 5 trillion won (approximately $3.6 billion).
What’s next?
The timing, size and structure of the offering remain early‑stage and could shift based on market conditions. Investors and industry observers will be watching closely as Solidigm moves toward a potential listing that could reshape the U.S. semiconductor landscape.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
