- What: SK hynix placed an 11.9 trillion won ($7.9 billion) order for ASML EUV lithography equipment.
- Quantity: The deal covers approximately 30 new EUV machines over a two-year period.
- Purpose: Mass production of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and next-generation DRAM for AI infrastructure.
- Timeline: Deliveries and payments are scheduled to run through December 2027.
- Significance: This is the largest single EUV order ever publicly disclosed by an ASML customer.
SK hynix has placed a record-breaking $7.9 billion (11.9 trillion won) order for Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment from Dutch manufacturer ASML. The massive deal, disclosed in a regulatory filing, secures the critical machinery needed to produce next-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and advanced DRAM. This investment represents the largest single publicly disclosed EUV order in history, as the South Korean chipmaker moves to cement its dominance in the AI-driven semiconductor market.
Securing the Tools for AI Supremacy
According to the regulatory filing reported by Bloomberg and Reuters, the procurement program will run through December 2027. Bernstein analyst David Dao estimates that the $7.9 billion price tag covers approximately 30 new EUV scanners. This figure is slightly higher than previous market forecasts of 26 units, signaling an aggressive acceleration in SK hynix’s production roadmap.
The acquisition of these machines is vital for the manufacturing of high-density chips required by modern AI accelerators. EUV lithography allows chipmakers to print finer circuits on silicon wafers, which is essential for the performance and energy efficiency required by advanced DRAM and HBM3E/HBM4 products.
ING analyst Marc Hesselink noted in a client communication that the order contains a "pull-in element," suggesting SK hynix is acting strategically to lock down ASML’s limited production capacity ahead of rivals. ASML remains the sole global producer of EUV lithography systems, making its hardware the industry's most critical bottleneck for advanced node production.
Expanding the Production Footprint
The new EUV scanners will be distributed across two of SK hynix’s primary manufacturing hubs in South Korea:
- M15X Plant (Cheongju): This facility is focused on the mass production of HBM chips. The plant began deploying wafers in February after its first cleanroom opened late last year.
- Yongin Semiconductor Cluster: A massive new development where SK hynix has committed 31 trillion won ($21.5 billion) for Phase 1. This site will handle advanced DRAM production.
The company has notably accelerated its construction schedule for the Yongin cluster, moving the opening of the first cleanroom from May to February 2027. To complement the lithography investment, SK hynix also announced a separate $13 billion advanced packaging facility in Cheongju earlier this year, which will handle the final assembly of HBM chips produced at the M15X fab.
The High-Stakes Battle for HBM Market Share
The AI boom, led by demand for Nvidia’s H100 and Blackwell GPUs, has placed SK hynix in a primary supplier position. The company currently holds more than 60% of the global HBM market share. However, competitors are rapidly closing the gap.
Samsung and TSMC are also aggressively purchasing EUV equipment to scale their own AI-focused capacity. While SK hynix currently leads in HBM, Samsung is ramping its EUV-based production to regain lost ground. This $7.9 billion order is widely viewed as a defensive and offensive maneuver to ensure SK hynix maintains its technical and volume advantages.
"This equipment is expected to serve both HBM and advanced DRAM production," Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities, told Reuters. This flexibility is key as the industry moves toward more complex 1c-nanometer and 1d-nanometer nodes.
Impact on the Industry and ASML
For ASML, the order provides a significant boost to its already substantial backlog, which stood at €38.8 billion at the end of 2025. Despite recent managerial restructuring and role cuts, ASML remains the kingpin of the semiconductor supply chain.
The scale of this order also highlights the massive capital expenditure (CAPEX) requirements now standard in the AI era. For developers and cloud providers, this investment ensures a future pipeline of high-performance memory, though it suggests that hardware costs will remain high as manufacturers attempt to recoup multi-billion dollar lithography investments.
"This massive capital expenditure signals that the AI infrastructure boom is no longer a trend, but a multi-year industrial race for hardware supremacy," says PikaAINews Staff analysis.
What’s Next
The first major wave of production from these new machines is expected to coincide with the opening of the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster in early 2027. In the interim, SK hynix is expected to continue separate spending on Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines, which have shorter lead times of three to six months.
As the industry moves toward HBM4 and beyond, the integration of EUV technology will become standard. The primary focus for the next 24 months will be how quickly SK hynix can install these 30 scanners and achieve the yields necessary to satisfy Nvidia’s seemingly bottomless appetite for AI memory.