SK Hynix's Solidigm weighs IPO that could value the US unit at up to $150 billion

Solidigm, the US-based NAND flash memory and solid-state drive (SSD) subsidiary of South Korea's SK Hynix, is considering an initial public offering as early as 2027 that could value the unit at up to $150 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter. Reuters reported the plans on September 25.

Investment banks compete for a role

Solidigm held pitch meetings this week with investment banks competing for roles on the listing, a process known in the industry as a "bake-off", one of the people and a fourth person said. The step is described as concrete progress toward what could become the largest-ever US semiconductor listing.

The company could raise about $15 billion in the IPO, the three people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential matters. The size of the deal and its timing remain at an early stage and could change depending on market conditions, they added.

From Intel's NAND business to a standalone unit

Solidigm is based in Rancho Cordova, California. In a deal announced in 2020, SK Hynix acquired Intel Corp's NAND memory and SSD business for about $9 billion and combined those operations with Solidigm, which was launched as a standalone subsidiary in 2021. The company said at the time that the acquisition would strengthen its NAND flash and enterprise SSD businesses and expand its position in the global memory market.

Solidigm supplies enterprise SSDs used in servers, cloud infrastructure and data centers. It has sought to differentiate itself with high-capacity storage products designed for AI applications, where growing data volumes require increasingly sophisticated storage. Solidigm declined to comment, and SK Hynix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Why the valuation stands out

A valuation of up to $150 billion would far exceed recent semiconductor IPOs, including Arm Holdings' roughly $54 billion valuation at its 2023 debut and Cerebras Systems' approximately $56 billion fully diluted valuation in its 2026 IPO. The listing would also give a standalone valuation to a business that has become a key part of SK Hynix's storage portfolio, and it seeks to tap strong investor demand for companies tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure, which has fuelled gains in semiconductor and hardware stocks.

Reuters reported earlier this month that Solidigm is considering building a NAND flash memory chip factory in the United States, with upstate New York emerging as a leading candidate. In August, SK Hynix said it was considering measures to boost Solidigm's competitiveness after media reports that the unit was exploring a pre-IPO fundraising round of about 5 trillion won, or $3.6 billion.