SK hynix's US unit plan raises concerns over hollowing out affiliates' AI ambition
By Nam Hyun-woo- Published Feb 2, 2026 4:26 pm KST
- Updated Feb 2, 2026 9:43 pm KST
AI Co. set to enable agile investment, improve Solidigm valuation
SK hynix’s plan to set up an artificial intelligence (AI) solutions firm in the United States is raising questions about how other SK Group units’ AI-related businesses will proceed, as the upcoming company, tentatively named AI Co., aims to become the group’s hub for AI data center solutions.
Currently, SK Telecom, SK Square and a number of other SK Group companies are pursuing separate ventures in the AI data center sector, as well as AI-related investment activities. Once AI Co. is established, however, concerns are growing that their strategic and investment functions could be centralized under the new entity, leaving existing units focused mainly on downstream services.
SK hynix announced its plan to set up AI Co. last week, describing the new entity as a company that will strengthen SK hynix’s memory competitiveness while providing comprehensive solutions across the AI data center sector.
To support the plan, SK hynix has committed $10 billion in capital, which will be held as a reserve and injected into AI Co. when there are suitable investment opportunities. The company said it will restructure its NAND-focused U.S. unit Solidigm into AI Co., while establishing a new subsidiary under Solidigm to continue its existing business.
Industry officials said SK hynix appears to have two main objectives in setting up AI Co.: establishing a key base for AI-related investments in the U.S., a core market for the industry, and finding new ways to use Solidigm.
Solidigm’s manufacturing operations are under SK hynix’s China unit, while its sales arm remains in the U.S., effectively limiting the company’s sales role as Washington increases restrictions on Chinese-made products. This has made it difficult for Solidigm to secure a proper market valuation.
By establishing AI Co. as the parent of Solidigm, SK Group’s key functions related to AI data center solutions would be consolidated under the new entity. This, in turn, could significantly boost the company’s valuation in the event of a future listing.
For this to happen, however, key functions and assets currently spread across SK Group affiliates, particularly those related to SK Telecom's AI data center businesses, would need to be transferred to AI Co.
SK hynix said nothing has been determined regarding the potential transfer of AI-related functions and assets. However, given that AI Co. has been designated to lead the expansion of the SK Group’s data center ecosystem and the push into the global AI market, SK Telecom’s vision of becoming a global player in AI data centers could be affected.
In recent years, SK Telecom has been striving to transform itself into an AI infrastructure company, pushing large-scale AI data center projects in Korea in partnerships with global tech firms. In November, SK Telecom CEO Jung Jai-hun revealed plans to build AI datacenters in Vietnam and other Asian markets in collaboration with energy affiliate SK Innovation.
The move also raises questions about SK Telecom’s equity investments into promising AI companies. In 2023, SK Telecom invested $100 mil. in Anthropic to secure a stake of approximately 2 percent, now around 1 percent, which is currently valued at around $3.5 billion. SK Telecom also holds stakes in Lambda and Perplexity.
Read MoreSK Group’s investment unit, SK Square, could also face questions as its role in key business domains such as overseas AI infrastructure, AI chips and AI data center solutions could overlap with that of AI Co., potentially prompting the group to shift decision-making functions to the new entity.
During last week’s earnings call, SK hynix said it decided to establish AI Co. to “proactively respond to the evolving AI business environment” and “the investment size is not large relative to the company’s earnings and cash-generating capacity.”
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