September 21, 2026 / SemiMedia / — SK hynix subsidiary Solidigm is considering building a NAND flash memory fab in the United States, with upstate New York emerging as a leading candidate location, according to people familiar with the discussions. No final agreement has been reached and key project details remain under review.

A U.S. fab would give Solidigm an additional manufacturing base beyond its NAND production operations in Dalian, China, while diversifying its supply chain and reducing exposure to potential tariffs and restrictions affecting semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

The project would require significant capital investment, however, and semiconductor production costs in the United States remain higher than at major Asian manufacturing locations. SK hynix is therefore still evaluating the economics of the plan, while investment size, construction timing and production capacity have not been finalized.

Solidigm was formed from Intel's former NAND and SSD business after SK hynix announced a $9 billion acquisition in 2020. The company focuses heavily on enterprise SSDs and NAND products, but prolonged weakness in the NAND market has weighed on the business in recent years.

NAND conditions have recently improved as AI data center expansion increases demand for enterprise storage. Additional U.S. manufacturing capacity could give Solidigm a more geographically diversified production base while supporting its North American data center customers.

Solidigm has also reportedly been considering a pre-IPO funding round of about KRW 5 trillion, or roughly $3.6 billion. SK hynix has said it is reviewing measures to strengthen the subsidiary's competitiveness but has not made a final decision.

Because a new NAND fab would take several years to build and ramp, any final investment decision will depend on manufacturing costs, market conditions and the longer-term outlook for enterprise SSD and NAND demand.