Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are gearing up to announce sizable agreements with American technology companies as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung visits Silicon Valley starting July 25, 2026. According to presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom, these deals focus primarily on supplying high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, key components that power AI processors.
Kim confirmed on July 24 that both semiconductor giants will unveil their contracts during the president’s trip, which includes an AI summit and meetings with key industry figures like Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI’s Sam Altman. While the exact values and partner names remain under wraps until the official announcements, the president’s visit marks the culmination of lengthy negotiations, possibly spanning several months or even years.
SK Hynix currently holds about 60% of the global HBM market revenue, acting as the main supplier for Nvidia’s latest GPUs that dominate AI training infrastructures worldwide. This plays into South Korea’s ambitious $518 billion semiconductor investment plan, which aims to establish four new fabrication plants, signaling the country’s deepening commitment to the sector.
Choosing Silicon Valley as the venue for these announcements instead of Seoul or a neutral location highlights South Korea’s strategic pivot towards the US tech ecosystem. The moves come at a time when semiconductor supply chains are under immense pressure from skyrocketing AI demand.
The growing overlap between AI infrastructure and cryptocurrency mining hardware means these supply agreements could tighten access to advanced chips for blockchain projects and miners. As AI firms secure more semiconductor capacity, especially from Samsung and SK Hynix, industries like crypto mining face constrained supply. This dynamic has already pushed several mining companies to diversify into AI computing services, acknowledging that chip allocations increasingly favor AI workloads.
