SK Hynix Weighs Solidigm IPO That Could Value NAND Unit at $150 Billion

SK Hynix is considering an initial public offering for Solidigm, its NAND flash memory subsidiary, that could value the unit at as much as $150 billion, Reuters reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

The figure, if realized, would rank the standalone company among the most valuable chipmakers in the world — and would represent a striking return on SK Hynix's acquisition of Intel's NAND business, which closed in 2021 at a final price of $7 billion after a first tranche of $9 billion was paid in 2020 under the original $9 billion agreement.

Solidigm, headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California, operates as SK Hynix's dedicated NAND unit, supplying enterprise SSDs and QLC-based storage products to data center customers. The company competes with Samsung, Kioxia, Micron and Western Digital in a NAND market that has tightened sharply as AI-driven demand for high-capacity enterprise storage pushes suppliers to prioritize high-bandwidth memory and advanced NAND products.

The deliberations remain at an early stage, according to Reuters' sources. No decision has been made, and the timeline, listing venue and size of any offering have not been determined. A valuation of up to $150 billion would place Solidigm in the same tier as the semiconductor industry's largest capitalizations, though market observers will note that any final number would depend on NAND pricing cycles, enterprise SSD order momentum and investor appetite for memory-sector exposure at the time of a listing.

SK Hynix has not commented publicly on the matter, and Reuters characterized its report as exclusive information from sources speaking on condition of anonymity.

A Solidigm IPO would mark the second major carve-out consideration in the memory sector in recent years, and it would give SK Hynix a separately listed vehicle for its NAND business while the parent company concentrates capital on HBM — the high-bandwidth memory product line that has become SK Hynix's principal growth engine amid AI accelerator demand from customers including Nvidia.

For now, the plan is a consideration, not a commitment. Whether it proceeds, and at what valuation, will hinge on the trajectory of NAND pricing and enterprise storage demand through the coming quarters.