Micron Faces Competition to Be the American Memory-Chip Champion

NAND flash memory chips are prepared for test in Micron’s back-end memory fabrication facility in Singapore (Courtesy of Micron)

Key Points

• Intel and SK Hynix are reportedly considering a joint venture or leasing facilities to manufacture memory chips in the U.S.
• The potential plans could increase the supply of American-made memory chips and create new competition for Micron Technology.
• Micron named former Synopsys executive Deidre Hanford as president of its new $10 billion Micron Research Labs in Idaho.

Micron Technology has been the flag-bearer for the U.S. in the memory-chip boom. But Intel and SK Hynix look to have their own American ambitions.

Intel stock was rising in Wednesday’s premarket on a report that South Korea’s SK Hynix could lease some of its chipmaking facilities for memory-chip manufacturing in the U.S., or they could form a joint venture, according to Reuters.

Intel and SK Hynix’s plans still look to be at an early stage but they could mean additional American-made memory chips that compete with Micron’s production. Micron shares were up 0.7% in the premarket.

At the moment, memory demand outstrips supply by such a large factor that there’s no immediate risk to Micron. But the company is betting heavily on Stateside manufacturing as a competitive advantage for the future, having recently expanded its U.S. investment plan to $250 billion through 2035.

U.S. manufacturing is generally more expensive than building factories in Asia and Micron has big plants in Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan that it is also expanding. But with the Trump administration threatening to place tariffs on chips made overseas, it makes sense for all parties to invest in American manufacturing as well.

Part of Micron’s approach is a $10 billion investment to establish Micron Research Labs in Idaho, a research institute advancing long-term innovation in memory. On Tuesday, Micron named Deidre Hanford as president of the Research Labs institute. Hanford was previously a longtime executive at Synopsys , the largest provider of electronic design automation software, which is used to design semiconductors.

“[Hanford] will establish its research infrastructure, operating model and partnerships while defining a research agenda that extends across Micron, academia, government, start-ups and the broader industry ecosystem,” the company said in a statement.

Micron will hope its Research Labs drive can help it maintain its place as America’s memory-chip pioneer.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com

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