SK Hynix Seeks US Export Licenses for China Plant to Unlock American Fab

SK Hynix's flash memory unit Solidigm is seeking U.S. approval to ship American chipmaking equipment to its Dalian factory in China as a condition for continuing to build a semiconductor plant in the U.S., Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources. The bargain sits at the center of America's escalating technology restrictions on China and its push to bring chip manufacturing home.

Solidigm has been drafting plans for a NAND flash memory factory on American soil. Upstate New York is under consideration as the site, according to the report.

What does the deal involve?

Solidigm wants to install more chipmaking equipment in spare space at SK Hynix's Dalian facility in China to raise NAND chip production, Reuters' sources said. In exchange, the company would keep building its planned U.S. plant.

SK Hynix pushed back on part of the story. It told TechCrunch it is not seeking to expand capacity at its Dalian Mod B facility, which was completed in 2023. The company added that equipment installation proceeds "in consultation with and under authorization from the U.S. government."

The distinction matters. Adding tools to an existing fab and expanding overall capacity are different regulatory questions under U.S. export rules, and SK Hynix is drawing the line publicly between the two.

Why is Washington's permission needed?

The U.S. first imposed sweeping restrictions on advanced chips and chipmaking equipment exports to China in October 2022, citing national security concerns. It tightened those rules in 2023.

Then, in September 2025, the Trump administration revoked special export exemptions that had covered certain SK Hynix, Samsung and Intel facilities in China. The U.S. has since granted Samsung and SK Hynix annual licenses to send chipmaking equipment to their Chinese plants.

Washington has also leaned on foreign chipmakers to build and expand in America. In July, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he wanted Samsung and SK Hynix to construct chip plants in the U.S., and confirmed he was in talks with both companies.

The result is leverage. Annual licenses keep Samsung and SK Hynix dependent on U.S. discretion, and the Solidigm negotiations show how that discretion can be traded for domestic investment.

Why NAND, and why now?

NAND flash chips are the core of solid-state storage drives, which power everything from laptops and smartphones to AI data centers. Demand from AI data centers has exploded, and the resulting component shortage has pushed up prices across the data center supply chain, from high-speed RAM chips to SSDs.

Research firm TrendForce expects NAND prices to rise 15% to 20% in the fourth quarter. For Solidigm, more output from Dalian's spare floor space would arrive just as pricing turns sharply in producers' favor.

What is the money at stake?

Solidigm is preparing a 2027 U.S. IPO that could raise around $10 billion and value the company at up to $100 billion, according to the report. A committed American factory would strengthen that listing's story to U.S. investors, while added Dalian output would pad the revenue line ahead of a debut.

The arrangement, if Washington accepts it, would let SK Hynix serve both political masters at once: more chips from China under license, and a symbolic fab on U.S. soil. The open question is whether the Trump administration treats continued exports to Dalian as a price worth paying for a New York plant — and what precedent that sets for Samsung's next license renewal.