SK hynix CEO: 2027 to Become the Most Supply-Constrained Year in the History of the Storage Industry

BlockBeats News, July 12th, SK Hynix CEO Seok-Hee Lee stated this week that 2027 is expected to be the most supply-constrained year in the history of the storage industry. Customers are actively seeking long-term supply agreements, and even with ongoing capacity expansions, demand may still outstrip supply beyond 2030.

SK Hynix's ADR soared 12.76% on its debut day of listing, raising approximately $26.5 billion, setting a record for foreign companies' IPO fundraising in the United States. The company announced that the funds raised will be primarily used for investment in wafer fabs, advanced packaging lines, and lithography equipment, as well as further strengthening collaboration with AI customers and bolstering AI talent reserves.

Meanwhile, Seok-Hee Lee revealed that the company is exploring a "Memory-as-a-Service" model, potentially offering storage resource leasing services to customers in the future instead of selling chips directly.

Industry experts project that driven by AI computing power demand, the HBM market will continue to face supply shortages. The price of HBM4 is expected to double from 2026 to 2027, and global HBM manufacturers are securing capacity through 3 to 5-year long-term agreements with leading AI customers.