SK Hynix raised between $26.5 billion [1] and $29 billion [2] in a record-breaking American Depositary Receipt offering on the Nasdaq.

The listing marks the largest first-time U.S. share sale by a foreign company in history [3]. By tapping into American capital markets, the South Korean memory chipmaker aims to accelerate the production of chips essential for artificial intelligence infrastructure [1], [3].

The offering, which priced on Friday, allows SK Hynix to diversify its investor base beyond its home market in Seoul. The move comes as global demand for high-bandwidth memory continues to surge, placing the company at the center of the AI hardware race.

Financial reports vary slightly on the final amount raised, with some sources citing $26.5 billion [1] and others reporting a total of $29 billion [2]. Despite the range, the scale of the debut represents a significant shift in how non-U.S. semiconductor firms access liquidity to compete with domestic giants.

The company intends to use the proceeds to scale its manufacturing capabilities. This expansion is designed to meet the rigorous requirements of data centers and AI developers who require specialized memory solutions to process massive datasets, a critical bottleneck in current AI deployment.

This strategic move positions the firm to maintain its competitive edge in the global semiconductor supply chain. By securing this level of funding, SK Hynix ensures it has the financial runway to invest in next-generation fabrication plants, and research and development.

“The largest first-time U.S. share sale by a foreign company in history.”

This record-breaking listing signals a deepening integration between South Korean hardware manufacturing and U.S. capital markets. As AI infrastructure becomes a matter of strategic national importance, SK Hynix's ability to raise tens of billions of dollars in the U.S. ensures that the supply of critical AI memory chips can keep pace with the rapid growth of large language models and generative AI tools.