SK Hynix bargains for chip equipment exports to its China facility in return for building a factory in US

SK Hynix appears to be navigating choppy U.S.-China chipmaking waters. The company’s flash memory unit, Solidigm, is seeking U.S. approval to send American chipmaking equipment to its factory in Dalian, China, as a condition to continue building a semiconductor factory in the U.S., Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources.

Solidigm has been reportedly chalking up plans to build a NAND flash memory chip factory in the U.S. and is considering upstate New York as a potential location for the facility.

NAND flash chips are primarily used in solid-state storage drives, which are employed in everything from laptops and smartphones to AI data centers. But the global component shortage, thanks to skyrocketing demand for AI data centers, has driven up prices for everything that goes into data centers, including high-speed RAM chips and SSDs. Research firm TrendForce expects NAND prices to rise 15% to 20% in the fourth quarter.

Reuters cited its sources as saying that Solidigm wants to install more chipmaking equipment in spare space at SK Hynix’s Dalian factory in China to boost NAND chip production.

SK Hynix told TechCrunch it is not seeking to expand capacity at its Dalian Mod B facility, which was completed in 2023. The chip giant added that the equipment installation is being carried out in consultation with and under authorization from the U.S. government.

Washington first imposed sweeping restrictions on advanced chips and chipmaking equipment exports to China in October 2022, citing national security concerns, and further tightened the rules in 2023. Then in September 2025, the Trump administration revoked special export exemptions for certain SK Hynix, Samsung, and Intel facilities in China. The U.S. has since granted an annual license to Samsung and SK Hynix for sending chipmaking equipment to their plants in China.

The U.S. has also been pushing foreign chipmakers to build and expand their manufacturing facilities in America. In July, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he wanted Samsung and SK Hynix to build chip plants in the country, and that he was in talks with both companies.

Solidigm is said to be preparing for a 2027 U.S. IPO that could raise around $10 billion and value it at up to $100 billion.

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Kate Park is a reporter at TechCrunch, with a focus on technology, startups and venture capital in Asia. She previously was a financial journalist at Mergermarket covering M&A, private equity and venture capital.

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