People visit the SK Telecom pavilion during the World IT Show 2025 at the COEX convention center in southern Seoul. File Photo by Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA
June 26 (UPI) — South Korea’s leading mobile operator SK Telecom said Thursday that it would invest $481 million in a U.S. subsidiary of SK hynix as part of the group’s efforts to concentrate on the artificial intelligence strategy.
SK Telecom said that it agreed to purchase a 0.9% stake in SK hynix NAND Product Solutions, a company geared toward investing in innovative AI enterprises in North America.
“To secure synergies with our AI business, we are pursuing the acquisition of an equity stake in SK hynix NAND Product Solutions,” SK Telecom said in a regulatory filing.
This is not the first time that SK Group affiliates channel fresh funds into the U.S. unit. In March, SK Corp. and SK Innovation injected capital amounting to $250 million and $380 million, respectively.
In 2021, SK hynix spent around $9 billion to take over Intel’s NAND flash business and subsequently formed SK hynix NAND Product Solutions, which is now being restructured into an AI-focused investment company.
Earlier this January, SK hynix said that it would commit $10 billion to the company, with the funds to be deployed on a capital-call basis.
“The planned establishment of the AI company is aimed at securing opportunities in the emerging AI era,” SK hynix said in a statement at the time. “The company will continue to work closely with global partners while proactively creating value for customers.”
The share price of SK Telecom edged down 0.88% on the Seoul bourse on Friday, while that of SK hynix plunged 8.36%. The benchmark KOSPI declined 5.81%.