Solidigm ties a US NAND fab to China chip tool approval
SK hynix's Solidigm wants US approval to ship more chip tools to its Dalian, China plant, Reuters reports, and links it to a new US NAND factory.
3 min read
By the numbers
- year Dalian's Mod B space was finished, then left part-empty
- 2023
- rise in NAND prices since mid-2023, per TechInsights
- 7x
- NAND price rise TrendForce expects in Q4
- 15-20%
- possible Solidigm IPO raise in 2027, per Bloomberg
- $10B
Solidigm, the US memory company owned by SK hynix, is asking the US government to let it ship more American chipmaking tools to its factory in Dalian, China. Reuters reported the request on October 14, 2026, citing people familiar with the matter. In return, Solidigm is weighing a new NAND flash factory in the United States. The trade-off matters because NAND, the memory inside SSDs, is in short supply as AI data centers buy up storage.
What Solidigm is asking for
According to the Reuters report, as relayed by TechCrunch, TrendForce and SBS News, the plan centers on a space at Dalian called Mod B. It was completed in 2023. Installing machines there stopped when the memory market slumped, so part of it stands empty.
Solidigm wants to fill that space with US-made equipment. The extra output from Dalian would help pay for a US NAND factory, the sources told Reuters. Reuters reported last month that upstate New York is a strong candidate site. Solidigm is also considering a stock market listing as early as next year to raise money for the project. TechCrunch, citing Bloomberg, says that listing could come in 2027, raise around $10 billion and value Solidigm at up to $100 billion.
What SK hynix says
SK hynix disputes the idea that it wants a bigger plant. The company told TechCrunch it is not seeking to expand capacity at Mod B. It said equipment is being installed in consultation with, and under authorization from, the US government. SBS News quotes the company's statement as: "We are not pursuing an expansion of production capacity."
So the two accounts conflict. Reuters' sources describe more output to fund a US plant. SK hynix describes approved installation work with no added capacity. Solidigm did not comment, TrendForce says.
The US rules behind it
The United States first limited chip tool exports to China in October 2022 and tightened the rules in 2023. In September 2025, the Commerce Department revoked special permissions that let SK hynix and Samsung bring US tools into their Chinese plants without individual licenses. Since then, only equipment needed to keep existing lines running has been approved. Equipment that adds capacity or upgrades technology has not.
| Date | US action |
|---|---|
| October 2022 | First export limits on chip tools to China |
| 2023 | Rules tightened |
| September 2025 | Special permissions for SK hynix and Samsung revoked |
| December 2025 | Yearly approval for 2026 shipments, with capped quantities |
TrendForce, citing Reuters, says the December approval caps how much equipment can go to Dalian. Approval for 2027 has not been issued. TrendForce also cites the Korean outlet The Bell: newer etching tools matter more as NAND chips stack more layers, and older tools add extra steps that raise costs.
US officials want the factories at home. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wants Samsung and SK hynix to build US plants, TechCrunch reports.
Why NAND supply matters now
Memory prices have climbed fast. SBS News cites the research firm TechInsights, which says NAND prices have risen sevenfold since mid-2023 on AI data center demand. TechCrunch cites TrendForce's forecast of a further 15% to 20% rise in the fourth quarter. We covered the price surge across DRAM and NAND in September, and Korean chip stocks have been swinging since, including a 5.46% drop in the Kospi on October 13.
What this means for developers
For teams that buy servers or cloud storage, this is a supply story. More Dalian output would ease the SSD shortage sooner than any new US factory, which would take years to build. A refusal keeps supply tight. Either way, budget for higher storage prices through at least the end of 2026, in line with TrendForce's fourth-quarter forecast.
Watch three signals next. The first is whether Washington approves more Dalian equipment for 2027. The second is a confirmed site and size for the US factory. The third is the timing of Solidigm's listing, which would show how much money is lined up.
If you sign multi-year hardware contracts, ask suppliers where their NAND comes from. A company that relies heavily on Chinese plants faces more policy risk than one with plants elsewhere.
Sources
- SK Hynix bargains for chip equipment exports to its China facility in return for building a factory in US - TechCrunch
- SK hynix Reportedly Seeks U.S. Chip Tool Approval for China Expansion to Fund Potential U.S. NAND Fab - TrendForce
- Reuters: SK Hynix Seeks U.S. Approval to Bring Equipment to Dalian Plant in China in Exchange for U.S. Factory - SBS News
- SK Hynix Seeks US Approval to Expand China Chip Output in Return for US NAND Plant Investment - Bloomingbit
Related articles
Kospi drops 5.46% as SK hynix falls 10% on chip fears
South Korea's Kospi fell 5.46% to 6,035.35 on October 13 as SK hynix dropped 10.09% and Samsung 7.39%, after foreign investors sold memory chip stocks.
CXMT 4F² DRAM progress knocks Samsung and SK Hynix shares
China's CXMT says it made progress on a smaller 4F² DRAM cell and plans DDR5 server memory by end-2026. Samsung fell 3.6% and SK Hynix 3.4% on October 12.
DeepSeek plans to order 160,000 Huawei chips for new center
DeepSeek plans to order at least 160,000 Huawei Ascend 950DT chips for a new Inner Mongolia data center, using them for inference while still training on Nvidia hardware.
The weekly digest
One email every Friday with the week's top stories from all six desks: AI, dev tools, coding, the tech industry, startups and what's next. Free, no spam.