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SK Hynix (000660.KS) is on the verge of topping a $1 trillion market value, just weeks after Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) crossed the milestone, as strong demand for artificial intelligence places South Korea at the heart of Asia's AI boom.
SK Hynix shares have risen more than 200% this year, after rising an eye-watering 274% in 2025, driven by AI-related demand for both conventional memory chips and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI servers.
If SK Hynix joins Samsung above the trillion-dollar threshold, South Korea would become the first country outside the United States to have more than one trillion-dollar company.
"The market is running on FOMO sentiments, especially on AI-related names in Japan and Korea," said Fabien Yip, market analyst at IG in Sydney.
Samsung became Korea's first trillion-dollar company earlier this month, although Taiwan's TSMC (2330.TW) remains Asia's biggest company by market value at over $1.83 trillion.
The three chipmakers and their record earnings have put the spotlight on their critical role in the global AI supply chain.
South Korea's benchmark KOSPI (.KS11) index has climbed in near-vertical fashion, hitting record highs as foreign investors both big and small have poured into chipmakers.
The index is up more than 86% this year, after soaring 75% in 2025 in its strongest annual performance since 1999. Since the start of 2025, the KOSPI has been the best-performing major stock market in the world.
SK Hynix, worth less than $100 billion 16 months ago, is now closing in on the market values of retail giant Walmart (WMT.O) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N), the investment vehicle of the legendary investor Warren Buffett.
On Thursday, SK Hynix shares edged down 0.48% while Samsung rose more than 3% to a record high, in a broader market that was up 0.9% - not far from the record high it reached earlier this week. SK Hynix's market cap was roughly at $948 billion, based on Wednesday's price and exchange rate.
