S Korean chipmakers to supply US tech firms in $950 bln deals

SEOUL

The logo of SK hynix is displayed at the 2026 World IT Show in Seoul. The South Korean company is one of the world’s leading chipmakers. (AFP photo)

South Korean memory chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will supply U.S. tech companies, including Nvidia, in agreements worth $950 billion, a presidential adviser said on July 25.

The announcement was made as President Lee Jae Myung visited San Francisco for talks with the heads of major U.S. technology companies, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and Broadcom’s Hock Tan.

The two South Korean chip giants and U.S. tech companies agreed to “pursue cooperation” in the sector, presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Yong-beom told reporters in San Francisco while accompanying Lee.

South Korea is home to the world’s leading memory chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, whose advanced memory chips are essential to the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence industry and have fuelled optimism about the country’s economic outlook.

The announcement includes SK hynix’s planned five-year cooperation agreement to supply $750 billion worth of memory chips to companies including Nvidia, Kim said.

It also includes a $200 billion memorandum of understanding between Samsung Electronics and Broadcom covering the supply of advanced memory chips and foundry services for AI chip production over the next five years, he said.

South Korea has pledged to triple spending on AI this year, aiming to join the United States and China as one of the world’s top powers in the sector.

SK hynix and Samsung Electronics are among the world’s three leading advanced memory chipmakers, along with U.S.-based Micron.