SK Hynix is weighing Intel as a second maker of the base chip in its next-generation AI memory — a threat to TSMC's lock on that business and a sign of how expensive AI memory has become.

• SK Hynix has leaned entirely on TSMC for the base die that sits under its high-bandwidth memory stacks, and now wants Intel in the mix too.
• Cost is the driver: TSMC charges several times more for that base layer than for the memory chips stacked on top of it.
• Long-term supply contracts make it hard to pass those costs on to buyers, so the squeeze lands on SK Hynix's margins.
• A second supplier also gives SK Hynix leverage in price talks and more room to build custom memory for different AI chip customers.
• The tie-up could stretch beyond the base die into advanced packaging, where Intel's EMIB would compete with TSMC's CoWoS.

Outlook: Expect SK Hynix to keep splitting its AI memory supply chain across both foundries as HBM4E ramps, chipping away at TSMC's near-monopoly.