SK Hynix Inc. shares rose between 13% [2] and 14% [1] during its U.S. Nasdaq debut on Friday.
The surge reflects the intense global demand for memory chips required to power artificial intelligence, positioning the company as a critical link in the AI supply chain.
The South Korean memory-chip maker entered the New York market with an offering price of $149 per American Depositary Receipt (ADR) [6]. Shares opened at $171.21 [3] and reached an intraday high of $179.00 [4]. The company sold 177.9 million ADR shares [5] as part of the listing process.
Chief Executive Kwak Noh-Jung said the global memory-chip shortage will persist into the next decade. He said the supply gap will continue beyond 2030 [7]. According to the CEO, the most severe shortage is projected to occur in 2027 [8].
The prolonged crunch is driven by an AI boom that has outpaced the production capacity of chipmakers. High-performance memory is essential for the large language models, and data centers that define current technological growth—a demand that continues to exceed available supply.
While the stock market responded positively to the debut, the CEO's forecast suggests a volatile period for hardware procurement. The gap between production and demand remains a primary challenge for the industry as it scales to meet the needs of AI developers.
“SK Hynix shares rose between 13% and 14% during its U.S. Nasdaq debut”
The combination of a successful U.S. listing and a bleak supply forecast indicates that while investors are bullish on the AI economy, the physical infrastructure cannot keep pace. A projected peak shortage in 2027 suggests that AI deployment speeds may be limited by hardware availability rather than software innovation over the next several years.
