Memory giant SK Hynix explores Indian partner: Report

Industry experts say that India's growing appeal for memory manufacturers stems from substantial financial incentives-covering as much as 70% of capital expenditure-under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), combined with the country's expanding domestic market and deep semiconductor design talent pool

South Korea's SK Hynix has entered preliminary discussions to identify an Indian partner for setting up a memory chip assembly and testing facility in the country, The Economic Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. If the plan moves ahead, it would mark the second major global memory manufacturer to establish operations in India after US-based Micron.

The Economic Times noted that SK Hynix, long seen as the "little brother" to Samsung Electronics, has sharply strengthened its position in the AI era through its focus on high-bandwidth memory (HBM), pushing its market capitalisation to about $290 billion in November.

One of the people cited told the publication that the chipmaker is exploring a partnership with Noida-based ASP Sealing Products for an ATMP (assembly, testing, marking and packaging) facility, likely focused on DDR5 memory.

The report added that the company is also engaging with several states, with Odisha emerging as the leading contender, ET reported. If finalised, this would make SK Hynix the second member among the global memory "trinity"-Micron, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix-to establish a presence in India.

DDR5, the latest generation of synchronous dynamic RAM, offers higher speeds, better efficiency and improved performance over DDR4. Neither SK Hynix nor the Odisha government responded to queries from The Economic Times. ASP Sealing Products told the publication that it has no plans to invest beyond its core automotive rubber business.

Industry experts told The Economic Times that India's growing appeal for memory manufacturers stems from substantial financial incentives-covering as much as 70% of capital expenditure-under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), combined with the country's expanding domestic market and deep semiconductor design talent pool. Parv Sharma, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, pointed out that SK Hynix has recently announced multibillion-dollar investments in advanced packaging in Indiana, US, and in the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster in South Korea to meet rising HBM demand.

Sharma told the publication that the surge in AI-driven memory demand and tightening global supply make an India expansion strategically sound for global chipmakers seeking to diversify and derisk supply chains. Localising memory assembly could reduce costs and support the development of a broader Indian semiconductor ecosystem, he added.

The Economic Times also cited Counterpoint Research data showing that Samsung Electronics regained the top spot in the global memory market in the third quarter of 2025 with $19.4 billion in revenue, ahead of SK Hynix at $17.5 billion. SK Hynix, however, maintained leadership in the DRAM segment and held a dominant 58% share of the HBM market. HBM contributed 40% of the company's DRAM revenue in the third quarter, and the firm is expected to meet customer requirements for upcoming HBM4 products.

Stronger demand and improving pricing in general-purpose DRAM further supported SK Hynix's quarterly performance, The Economic Times reported.

The publication also recalled Micron's June 2022 announcement of a new DRAM and NAND assembly and testing facility in Gujarat. Micron's investment of up to $825 million, supported by central and state incentives under the Modified ATMP Scheme, brings the total project commitment to as much as $2.75 billion across two phases. The facility is projected to generate up to 5,000 direct and 15,000 indirect jobs.

However, later in the day, SK Hynix, in an official statement, said that it has never met with ASP or officials from the state of Odisha, nor have we engaged in any related discussions.

"As a global semiconductor company, we are continuously exploring business opportunities in various countries; however, we are not currently considering any investment in India," the statement said.