Exclusive Report - Sources Say SK Hynix Solidigm Considers IPO, Valuation May Reach 150 billions

Milana Vinn/Echo Wang

Reuters New York, September 25 - According to three sources, chipmaker SK hynix 000660.KS’s subsidiary Solidigm is considering an initial public offering (IPO) as early as next year, which could value the US-based unit at up to $150 billion.

One of the sources and a fourth individual said that Solidigm held roadshows this week with investment banks bidding for the IPO underwriting business, a process known as a "bake-off," marking a concrete step toward what could be the largest IPO in US semiconductor history.

The three sources said the company could raise $15 billion through the IPO. They requested anonymity to discuss confidential matters. They added that plans, including the size and timeline of the offering, are still at an early stage and could change depending on market conditions.

This listing would be one of the largest semiconductor IPOs ever and could provide an independent valuation for a company that has become a key part of SK hynix's storage portfolio. Meanwhile, it would help address strong investor demand for artificial intelligence (link) infrastructure companies, demand that has previously driven up semiconductor and hardware stock prices.

Headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California, Solidigm is a US subsidiary of Korea’s SK hynix, primarily engaged in NAND flash and solid-state drive (SSD) businesses.

Solidigm declined to comment. SK hynix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Enhancing Competitiveness

In 2020, SK hynix announced the acquisition of Intel Corp’s INTC.O NAND flash and SSD business for about $9 billion and merged these operations with Solidigm, which was established as an independent subsidiary in 2021. At the time, the company stated that the acquisition would strengthen its NAND flash and enterprise SSD business and expand its presence in the global memory market.

Solidigm supplies enterprise-grade SSDs for servers, cloud infrastructure, and data centers. The company is committed to differentiating itself with high-capacity storage products designed specifically for AI applications, as the growing volume of data in AI requires increasingly complex storage solutions.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Solidigm is considering building a NAND flash chip factory (link) in the US, with upstate New York (link) emerging as one of the preferred locations (link), as part of its capacity expansion plans.

Last month, SK hynix said it was considering measures to enhance Solidigm’s competitiveness, after media reported that the subsidiary was exploring a round of pre-IPO financing of about 5 trillion won ($3.6 billion).

A valuation as high as $150 billion would far surpass the IPO valuations of recent semiconductor companies, including Arm Holdings O9Ty.F, which was valued at about $54 billion when it went public in 2023, and Cerebras Systems CBRS.O, which reached a fully diluted valuation of about $56 billion at its IPO in 2026.

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