SK Hynix and Micron Reach Historic $1 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Chip Demand Surge
South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix achieved a historic $1 trillion market valuation on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. This milestone event occurred within 24 hours of its rival, Micron Technology, crossing the same symbolic threshold. The rapid transformation of the memory chip industry is driven by the surging demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Shares of SK Hynix experienced a significant jump of as much as 11% on that Wednesday, pushing its market capitalization above the $1 trillion mark. Since the start of 2026, the company’s stock has seen an impressive increase of approximately 250%. This surge is fueled by an unprecedented demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, which are extensively used in AI servers and accelerators. Micron Technology reached the $1 trillion valuation milestone just a day earlier, following a 19% surge in its shares. This was triggered by a bullish analyst report from UBS that tripled the company’s price target.
Both SK Hynix and Micron Technology have emerged as crucial suppliers to AI chip giant, Nvidia. This has solidified their positions at the heart of the global AI supply chain. Reports suggest that SK Hynix has sold out its entire 2026 HBM production capacity. Furthermore, memory chip prices have seen a two-fold increase in the first quarter, with projections indicating potential increases of up to 63% in the current quarter. This rally has made South Korea the first country outside the United States to have more than one trillion-dollar company. Samsung Electronics had crossed this threshold earlier in the same month.
Source: CNBC Technology