On August 14, media reports from South Korea indicated that, in response to the escalating demand for artificial intelligence (AI) memory, SK Hynix substantially boosted its equipment investment and research and development (R&D) expenditures in the first half of this year. The company's cash outlays for acquiring tangible assets surpassed KRW 18 trillion, marking a year-on-year surge of over 70%. According to SK Hynix's semi-annual report unveiled on the 14th, its cash expenditures for procuring tangible assets during the first half of the year hit KRW 18.3288 trillion, up by 72.7% from KRW 10.6157 trillion recorded in the corresponding period last year. Concurrently, R&D spending also witnessed a significant uptick, totaling KRW 6.0428 trillion, a year-on-year hike of 98.4%, with KRW 5.8163 trillion earmarked for ongoing development projects. With the demand for AI-specific high-bandwidth memory (HBM), server DRAM, and enterprise-grade solid-state drives (SSDs) continuing to rise, SK Hynix is expediting the expansion of its production facilities to meet market needs.