SK Hynix became the latest semiconductor heavyweight to enter the $1 trillion market-cap club on Wednesday, as its shares climbed 9.3% and briefly pushed the company’s value to a record 1,680 trillion won, or about $1.12 trillion.
The rally lifted South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index to a record high and extended a powerful run for the chipmaker, whose stock has been driven by the global scramble for memory chips used in artificial intelligence systems.
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SOUTH KOREA 🇰🇷 JUST DID SOMETHING THAT ONLY THE UNITED STATES 🇺🇸 HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO
— WOLF (@WOLF_Financial) May 27, 2026
South Korea just became the second country to have more than 1 company valued at $1+ Trillion
Samsung: $1.3 Trillion market cap
SK Hynix: $1 Trillion pic.twitter.com/RjADL93xOO
A new darling enters the rarefied club
The milestone adds SK Hynix to a small group of chipmakers benefiting from the AI boom.
Samsung Electronics crossed the $1 trillion mark on May 6, while Micron reached the same level on Tuesday, making SK Hynix the newest entrant in the club.
The company is also central to the supply chain for Nvidia’s AI chipsets, particularly in high-bandwidth memory, a category that has become critical for AI data centers and advanced computing hardware.
SK Hynix just joined the $1 trillion club 🚀
— Tech Ultimatum (@TechieUltimatum) May 27, 2026
The AI boom is no longer just about Nvidia.
SK Hynix, one of the world’s biggest HBM memory suppliers for AI GPUs, has become critical infrastructure for the entire AI industry:
• Nvidia AI chips
• Google data centers
• AI… pic.twitter.com/ozZiAisqde
Supplies grow scarce
The scale of the surge reflects how tight supply has become.
Memory chip prices doubled in the first quarter from the previous period and are expected to rise by as much as 63% in the current quarter, as demand from AI data centers keeps pressure on supplies for smartphones, laptops and automobiles.
An analyst quoted by Reuters said memory-chip demand is expected to exceed supply through 2028, a view that has helped keep expectations elevated across the sector.
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Seoul’s markets are having a splendid spell
The rally has also spilled over into South Korea’s broader market. Samsung and SK Hynix together accounted for half of the KOSPI by market capitalization after Wednesday’s gains, while the index has risen 95% so far this year after a 76% gain in 2025.
There is a heavy retail and institutional interest in chip-linked exchange-traded funds, underscoring how investor enthusiasm for the AI trade has broadened well beyond the largest US technology names.
