Two outlets, Tom's Hardware and TechCrunch, both report that SK hynix's Solidigm unit is pressing Washington for export licenses to install additional chipmaking equipment at its Dalian, China, NAND fab, and that a proposed US factory is part of that negotiation. Both attribute the story to Reuters and say Solidigm has been considering a US NAND fab. TechCrunch adds that upstate New York is a potential location.
The Dalian facility is the only plant making 192-layer floating-gate 3D NAND for Solidigm's data center-grade SSDs, and it depends on tools from US suppliers such as Applied Materials, KLA and Lam Research. Tom's Hardware notes that the US granted SK hynix a limited equipment authorization for 2026 but has not issued a similar one for 2027. Both sources report that the additional tools would go into unused space in the Mod B building completed in 2023, and TechCrunch quotes SK hynix as saying it is not seeking to expand capacity there.
The two reports agree on the broad bargain but differ in emphasis. Tom's Hardware frames the US fab offer as a strategically motivated move and notes that extra NAND output from China could help finance the US plant and an IPO as early as 2027. TechCrunch includes the company's denial of expansion and market context: NAND prices are expected to rise 15% to 20% in the fourth quarter, and the US has been pushing SK hynix and Samsung to build plants in America.