SK Hynix is stockpiling chip materials at a much faster pace, a sign that AI memory demand is running hot and costs are set to rise across the chip supply chain.

• SK Hynix's silicon wafer spending in the second quarter of 2026 doubled from the previous quarter, outpacing rival Samsung.
• The company is buying early to lock in materials before wafer prices climb, and to feed expanded production of HBM and advanced DRAM chips.
• After five years of squeezing suppliers for lower prices, SK Hynix has quietly agreed to let key equipment makers raise prices by 3% to 4%.
• Capacity plans are growing fast: production targets for the newest DRAM chips have been roughly doubled for early 2027, plus a $4 billion packaging plant in Indiana.
• New products are coming too, including a next-generation mobile memory chip and 375-layer flash memory set for mass production by the end of 2026.

Outlook: Chip material and equipment prices look set to keep rising as AI memory demand pulls the whole supply chain tighter.