Solidigm, the U.S.-based subsidiary of South Korea's SK hynix, is evaluating a listing plan with a potential valuation of up to $150 billion, which could become the largest IPO in U.S. semiconductor history.
According to people familiar with the matter cited by Reuters, Solidigm has held bidding meetings with multiple investment banks this week to compete for IPO underwriting roles, marking a substantive step forward in the listing process. The company aims to complete the listing as early as next year, with a target fundraising scale of approximately $15 billion. Sources cautioned that plans including deal size and timetable remain at an early stage and may be adjusted due to market conditions.
According to Bloomberg, in August of this year, Solidigm reached a multi-year agreement with CoreWeave to provide enterprise-grade solid-state drive (SSD) capacity to the latter. Solidigm's other customers include Vast Data, Dell, and Tencent. If the listing ultimately proceeds, it will provide an independent valuation for this company focused on NAND flash memory and enterprise-grade SSDs, while leveraging the artificial intelligence infrastructure investment boom to attract market capital. AI-related demand continues to drive semiconductor hardware stocks higher, and the segment in which Solidigm operates is at the core of this trend. As of Friday's intraday trading, SK hynix shares rose 2.8% in U.S. trading.
Valuation Far Exceeds Peers, May Set New Semiconductor Listing Record
The potential valuation of $150 billion would significantly surpass recent semiconductor listing cases. Arm Holdings was valued at approximately $54 billion when it listed in 2023, while Cerebras Systems had a fully diluted valuation of approximately $56 billion at its 2026 IPO. If Solidigm completes its listing at the target valuation, it would become the largest IPO in U.S. semiconductor industry history.
Headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California, Solidigm is a U.S. subsidiary of South Korea's SK hynix, primarily engaged in NAND flash memory chips and solid-state drive businesses. The company focuses on high-capacity storage products for AI applications, supplying enterprise-grade SSDs in server, cloud infrastructure, and data center sectors, and is committed to meeting the growing demand for massive data storage in AI scenarios through differentiated products.
Born from Intel Acquisition, Developed into SK hynix's Core Storage Asset
Solidigm's business foundation originates from a major acquisition transaction. SK hynix announced in 2020 that it would acquire Intel's NAND storage and SSD business for approximately $9 billion, and in 2021 integrated the related business and launched Solidigm as an independent subsidiary. SK hynix stated at the time that the acquisition would strengthen its NAND flash memory and enterprise-grade SSD businesses and expand its share in the global storage market. Solidigm has now become an important component of SK hynix's storage business portfolio. Last month, SK hynix said it was studying measures to enhance Solidigm's competitiveness, following media reports that the subsidiary was considering pre-IPO financing of approximately 5 trillion Korean won (approximately $3.6 billion).
While advancing its listing plan, Solidigm is also considering expanding domestic production capacity. According to previous media reports, the company is evaluating a plan to build a NAND flash memory chip factory in the United States, with upstate New York having become the primary candidate location.
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