SK hynix set up a research and development (R&D) unit dedicated to NAND at its U.S. entity as the Korean chipmaker looks to capitalize on the expected recovery in the memory chip segment next year.

Dubbed SK hynix NAND Development America (SKHNA), it is the first time an R&D unit has been established at the U.S. entity in San Jose, California, which has primarily focused on local sales and marketing.

“Leveraging the benefit of its location, the new R&D unit looks to preemptively forge partnerships with Big Tech companies there as well as secure human resources for research,” an SK hynix spokesman said.

The new research team is expected to focus on NAND for on-device AI devices that process data independently without being connected to the internet. In return, the device requires more extensive storage options, demanding advanced and tailored NAND chips.

The NAND flash market’s recovery in 2023 has been slow compared to DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) chips, which benefited from the AI boom as demand for high-performance HBM (high bandwidth memory) chips soared for servers and data centers.

An array of on-device AI products coming next year, ranging from smartphones to laptops, are expected to accelerate recovery in NAND flash.

Prices for NAND-based eMMC (embedded multimedia card) and UFS (universal flash storage) devices are estimated to increase by 18 to 23 percent in the first quarter of next year, according to TrendForce.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]