SK Hynix will acquire the latest EUV equipment from ASML, costing about $8 billion.

Dutch equipment manufacturer ASML usually keeps the details of its deals with customers confidential, but occasionally information leaks out. This week it became known that South Korean company SK hynix plans to invest $7.9 billion by the end of 2027 in purchasing EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) scanners from ASML. These devices will allow it to move to chip production using the most advanced technology nodes.

Memory manufacturers previously did not require such advanced lithography equipment because they used more mature process technologies, unlike logic IC makers. However, the growth of multi‑chip module (MCM) composition has led to a need for more powerful tools. The SK hynix order will be used at the company’s two largest plants in South Korea. It is ASML’s largest disclosed customer order.

The new scanners will begin operating at SK hynix’s new facility in Yongin, which is currently under construction and should be ready by February 2027. They are likely to be deployed for producing more advanced memory types such as HBM (High Bandwidth Memory). SK hynix’s current base HBM chips are manufactured by Taiwan’s TSMC; Samsung Electronics already produces both the matrix and DRAM chips for the HBM stack. Clearly, SK hynix is aiming to reduce its dependence on TSMC.

It should be noted that Samsung is already testing ASML’s most advanced high‑NA equipment, which will be in demand for process nodes below 2 nm. Both TSMC and Intel are interested in this solution. In the future, EUV equipment will also be useful to SK hynix for producing standard DRAM.

The $7.9 billion sum will allow the company to purchase roughly thirty new EUV scanners from ASML.