Analysis
Solidigm, the flash-memory unit SK Hynix bought from Intel in 2021, is negotiating to send American chipmaking equipment to its Dalian, China factory as a condition for continuing to build a semiconductor plant in the US, Reuters reported, via TechCrunch. The same reporting says Solidigm is preparing a 2027 US IPO that could raise around $10 billion and value the company at up to $100 billion.
Why Export Equipment To Expand In China?
Solidigm wants to install more equipment in spare space at its Dalian Mod B facility, completed in 2023, to boost NAND flash production there -- even as it reportedly commits to building a separate factory in the US, with upstate New York under consideration. SK Hynix told TechCrunch it is "not seeking to expand capacity" at Dalian and said the equipment installation is happening under US government authorization. The reporting itself is unsettled on the US factory's status: it's described both as a project the company continues building and one it is still weighing, a distinction that matters for anyone trying to size the actual US commitment.
“SK Hynix told TechCrunch it is "not seeking to expand capacity" at Dalian and said the equipment installation is happening under US government authorization.”
This follows a reversal in US policy. The Trump administration revoked special export exemptions for SK Hynix, Samsung and Intel's China facilities in September 2025, then granted Samsung and SK Hynix an annual license for chipmaking equipment shipments to their China plants. Trading further equipment access for a US factory pledge would extend that pattern of case-by-case bargaining rather than a blanket rule.
The IPO plan, if it holds, would make Solidigm one of the largest chip listings in years -- bigger than most recent semiconductor debuts and a direct bet on AI-driven memory demand. TrendForce expects NAND prices to rise 15% to 20% in the fourth quarter alone, which gives Solidigm a stronger growth story to pitch public investors than it would have had a year ago, when memory pricing was still soft.
For VCs with exposure to memory, chip-equipment or China-manufacturing plays, the signal to watch isn't the IPO number -- it's whether other Korean or Taiwanese chipmakers now have a template for trading China access for US goodwill. Worth noting: a $10 billion raise and $100 billion valuation are unconfirmed and more than a year out, and reported IPO targets at this stage routinely move before a company actually prices.