![\"Reliable](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Featured-image-24V-DC-industrial-power-path-PCB-circuit-layout-diagram.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nBy Unikeyic.\u00a0 08.26.2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t By Zackary Glazewski, Founding AI Engineer, ChipAgents\u00a0\u00a0 08.26.2026<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t By Colin Duggan, CEO and co-founder, BG Networks\u00a0\u00a0 08.26.2026<\/p>\n The Indiana fab will do the final processing of HBM chips that SK Hynix makes in South Korea. Being a leader in HBM manufacturing isn\u2019t enough, SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung said at the ceremony in West Lafayette, Indiana.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must also develop customized memory supply for our customers through advanced packaging,\u201d Kwak noted. \u201cWe must maximize the performance of memory, AI chips, and the entire system.\u201d<\/p>\n The SK Hynix facility will start commercial production of HBM4E chips in the second half of 2029, handling hundreds of thousands of wafers per year. The company hinted that it may manufacture HBM chips near the Indiana site after 2030.<\/p>\n \u201cBy 2030, Indiana is expected to become a key HBM production base,\u201d Kwak said. SK Hynix is in discussion with hundreds of its suppliers to build an industry ecosystem in the area, he added.<\/p>\n The company is working with nearby Purdue University on R&D and upcoming advanced packaging tech. SK Hynix\u2019s advanced packaging R&D facility will be next door to local production lines, enabling customers, universities, and partners to cooperate in the development of next-generation packaging technologies together with prototype fabrication and performance validation.<\/p>\n Competition<\/p>\n Amkor, the world\u2019s second largest\u00a0semiconductor packaging and testing (OSAT) company<\/a>, is investing about $7 billion in an advanced packaging facility near TSMC\u2019s new chip fabs in Phoenix, Arizona. The Amkor facility will be ready for production around 2028, the same timeframe for SK Hynix\u2019s production start in Indiana.<\/p>\n TSMC also plans to open its first advanced packaging facility in Arizona before 2029. The company has struggled with HBM packaging issues this year, according to analysts<\/a>.<\/p>\n ASE Technology, the world\u2019s largest chip packager, is doubling down on investment in Asia with a record $10.5 billion budget for expansion including advanced packaging this year.<\/p>\n Purdue<\/p>\n Purdue is one of several universities leading U.S. semiconductor reshoring efforts after launching the nation\u2019s first comprehensive Semiconductor Degrees Program in 2022.<\/p>\n Purdue\u2019s Birck Nanotechnology Center<\/a> has one of the largest academic cleanrooms in the U.S. and 33,000 square feet of specialized laboratories.<\/p>\n Mark Lundstrom, dean of the College of Engineering at Purdue and the university\u2019s chief semiconductor officer, said he\u2019s confident that Purdue can meet SK Hynix\u2019s demand for engineering talent.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re getting an awful lot of students trained in all aspects of the ecosystem,\u201d Lundstrom told EE Times. \u201cNot only electrical and computer engineering, but materials, chemical, mechanical, industrial engineering. It\u2019s really across the spectrum because these companies need so many different kinds of talent.\u201d<\/p>\n Purdue has gone from 40 students working in chip design projects four years ago to nearly 400 today. The university nanotechnology center has 100 students doing chip fabrication projects.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t even have those programs four years ago,\u201d Lundstrom noted.<\/p>\n Purdue\u2019s Center for Advanced System Integration and Packaging has around thirty-five faculty supporting one of the nation\u2019s largest programs in advanced packaging.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was probably a factor in SK Hynix\u2019s decision to partner with us and come here,\u201d Lundstrom said. \u201cThere was some indication in the event that this is the first step in something much bigger. We\u2019re focused right now on making sure that this packaging facility and R&D lab are successful, and that we bring the supply chain partners here.\u201d<\/p>\n Purdue\u2019s other major partners in the semiconductor industry are Taiwanese chip designer MediaTek and Europe\u2019s R&D organization imec.<\/p>\n Also read:<\/p>\n TSMC\u2019s HBM-Packaging Yield Issues Help Intel, Analysts Say<\/a><\/p>\n Smartphone Makers Squeezed by Soaring Chip Costs<\/a><\/p>\n Sony-TSMC $4.7B Deal Helps Thwart Samsung, Analysts Say<\/a><\/p>\n U.S. Startup Fields Quantum Sensors to Reduce Reliance on GPS<\/a><\/p>\n CHIPLETS<\/a>, HBM<\/a>, HIGH-BANDWIDTH MEMORY<\/a>, SEMICONDUCTORS<\/a>, SOC<\/a>\n <\/p>\n![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Thumbnail-2-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Why](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BGNetworks-article-thumbnail.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n