SK hynix announces semiconductor advanced packaging investment in Purdue Research Park – purdue.edu
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April 3, 2024
SK hynix announced Wednesday (April 3) semiconductor advanced packaging investment in Purdue Research Park. From left to right: Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb; Kwak Noh-jung, SK hynix president and CEO; Woojin Choi, SK hynix executive vice president; Arati Prabhakar, director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and assistant to the president for science and technology; Mung Chiang, Purdue University president (speaking); Arun Venkataraman, U.S. Department of Commerce assistant secretary; U.S. Sen. Todd Young; Hyundong Cho, ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States; David Rosenberg, Indiana secretary of commerce; Mitch Daniels, Purdue Research Foundation chairman. (Purdue University/Kelsey Lefever)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — SK hynix Inc. announced Wednesday (April 3) that it plans to invest close to $4 billion to build an advanced packaging fabrication and R&D facility for AI products in the Purdue Research Park. The development of a critical link in the U.S. semiconductor supply chain in West Lafayette marks a giant leap forward in the industry and the state.
“We are excited to build a state-of-the-art advanced packaging facility in Indiana,” said SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung. “We believe this project will lay the foundation for a new Silicon Heartland, a semiconductor ecosystem centered in the Midwest Triangle. This facility will create local, high-paying jobs and produce AI memory chips with unmatched capabilities, so that America can onshore more of its critical chip supply chain. We are grateful for the support of Gov. Holcomb and the state of Indiana, of President Chiang at Purdue University, and of the broader community involved, and we look forward to expanding our partnership in the long run.”
SK hynix joins Bayer, imec, MediaTek, Rolls-Royce, Saab and many more national and international companies bringing innovation to America’s heartland. The new facility — home to an advanced semiconductor packaging production line that will mass-produce next-generation high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, chips, the critical component of graphic processing units that train AI systems such as ChatGPT — is expected to provide more than a thousand new employment opportunities in the Greater Lafayette community. The company plans to begin mass production in the second half of 2028.
The project marks SK hynix’s intention for long-term investment and partnership in Greater Lafayette. The company’s decision-making framework prioritizes both profit and social responsibility while promoting ethical actions and accountability. From infrastructure developments that make accessing amenities easier to community empowerment projects such as skill development and mentorship, the SK hynix advanced packaging fabrication marks a new era of collaborative growth.
“Indiana is a global leader in innovating and producing the products that will power our future economy, and today’s news is proof positive of that fact,” said Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb. “I’m so proud to officially welcome SK hynix to Indiana, and we’re confident this new partnership will enhance the Lafayette-West Lafayette region, Purdue University and the state of Indiana for the long term. This new semiconductor innovation and packaging plant not only reaffirms the state’s role in the hard-tech sector, but is also another tremendous step forward in advancing U.S. innovation and national security, putting Hoosiers at the forefront of national and global advancements.”
Investment in the Midwest and Indiana was spurred by Purdue’s excellence in discovery and innovation and its track record of exceptional R&D and talent development through collaboration. Partnerships among Purdue, the corporate sector, and the state and federal government are essential to advancing the U.S. semiconductor industry and establishing the region as the Silicon Heartland.
“SK hynix is the global pioneer and dominant market leader in memory chips for AI,” Purdue President Mung Chiang said. “This transformational investment reflects our state and university’s tremendous strength in semiconductors, hardware AI and development of the Hard-Tech Corridor. It is also a monumental moment for completing the supply chain of the digital economy in our country through the advanced packaging of chips. Located at Purdue Research Park, the largest facility of its kind at a U.S. university will grow and succeed through innovation.”
In 1990 the U.S. was producing nearly 40% of the world’s semiconductors. However, as manufacturing moved to Southeast Asia and China, the U.S. global output of semiconductor manufacturing has fallen to closer to 12%.
“SK hynix will soon be a household name in Indiana,” said U.S. Sen. Todd Young. “This incredible investment demonstrates their confidence in Hoosier workers, and I’m excited to welcome them to our state. The CHIPS and Science Act opened a door that Indiana has been able to sprint through, and companies like SK hynix are helping to build our high-tech future.”
To aid in bringing semiconductor manufacturing closer to home and shoring up global supply chains, the U.S. Congress introduced the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act, or CHIPS and Science Act, on June 11, 2020. Signed by President Joe Biden on Aug. 9, 2022, it funds holistic development of the semiconductor industry to the tune of $280 billion. It supports the nation’s research and development, manufacturing, and supply chain security of semiconductors.
“When President Biden signed the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, he put a stake in the ground and sent a signal to the world that the United States cares about semiconductor manufacturing,” said Arati Prabhakar, President Biden’s chief science and technology advisor and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “Today’s announcement will strengthen the economy and national security, and it will create good jobs that support families. This is how we do big things in America.”
Purdue Research Park, one of the largest university-affiliated incubation complexes in the country, unites discovery and delivery with easy access to Purdue faculty experts in the semiconductor field, highly sought-after graduates prepared to work in the industry, and vast Purdue research resources. The park also offers convenient accessibility for workforce and semitruck traffic, with access to I-65 just minutes away.
This historic announcement is the next step in Purdue University’s persistent pursuit of semiconductor excellence as part of the Purdue Computes initiative. Recent announcements include these
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About SK hynix Inc.
SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world’s top-tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (“DRAM”), flash memory chips (“NAND flash”) and CMOS Image Sensors (“CIS”) for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK hynix is available at www.skhynix.com, news.skhynix.com.
About Purdue Research Foundation
Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Established in 1930, the foundation accepts gifts, administers trusts, funds scholarships and grants, acquires and sells property, protects and licenses Purdue’s intellectual property, and supports creating Purdue-connected startups on behalf of Purdue. The foundation operates Purdue Innovates, which includes the Office of Technology Commercialization, Incubator and Ventures. The foundation manages the Purdue Research Park, Discovery Park District, Purdue Technology Centers and Purdue for Life Foundation.
For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at [email protected]. For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact Purdue Innovates at [email protected].
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.
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