SK Hynix shelved plans to list its flash memory unit Solidigm in the US, ending a deal that targeted a valuation of up to $150B.
The company cited capital market conditions and recent semiconductor share trends in a regulatory filing Friday, and halted talks around pre-IPO fundraising.
Solidigm, built from the $9B purchase of Intel's NAND unit five years ago, makes flash memory used in AI data center storage. The listing had been floated as a way to fund US production facilities and technology development.
Seoul's regulators got there first
South Korea's financial watchdogs said days earlier that the deal would contravene a duplicate listing ban, rules designed to stop parent companies from spinning off crown-jewel units at the expense of minority holders.
Under those guidelines, the boards of SK Hynix and parent SK Square would have had to assess shareholder impact, build protections, and disclose their reasoning.
Governance investors read the retreat as a win for minority shareholders, easing worries about dilution and the discount that typically attaches to listing both a parent and its subsidiary.
"A major positive for Korean corporate governance."
Ryan Albert, Terton Capital
The AI hardware IPO window is narrowing
Since hitting their 2026 peaks, memory and storage names have lost about $1.3T in combined market value, with SK Hynix accounting for roughly $489B of that and Micron roughly $411B.
Bar chart. Market Value Lost ($B). SK Hynix: Market Value Lost $489. Micron: Market Value Lost $411. Memory & Storage Total: Market Value Lost $1K.
The pullback sits awkwardly against the industry's fundamentals, with memory makers booking record profits on AI data center demand and executives expecting shortages lasting into 2028.
Solidigm is not the only AI-related listing on hold. Firmus Grid, an Australian data center company, scrapped its planned offering, while AirTrunk moved its Singapore debut into next year.
Private AI valuations are cooling too. OpenAI is seeking $1.25T in funding talks, down from $1.4T, while Anthropic's IPO is expected next month.
SK Hynix said the decision doesn't reflect any change in Solidigm's growth prospects or investment needs, and left the door open to a listing later.
Funding the factories without public money is the harder part. SK Hynix can lean on internal cash flow or bring in outside co-investors, while balancing heavy spending on high-bandwidth memory.
Sandisk reports results Thursday, the next read on whether memory demand is holding up.
