SK hynix Inc. has launched a corporate venture capital brand, SK hynix Ventures, which it says is intended to expand strategic partnerships within the global AI ecosystem and to secure future technologies. The launch was marked with an inaugural "SK hynix Ventures Day" in Silicon Valley, where executives set out investment strategy to global venture capital firms and startup representatives and discussed technological cooperation in response to changes in the AI industry, the company said.
CEO Kwak Noh-Jung and other senior executives attended, along with representatives of global venture capital firms and executives of leading startups. Startups from the U.S. AI computing and data center technology sectors also took part and gave their views on innovation in computing, memory and system software as advanced AI models develop, and on the performance and power efficiency of optical-based systems for AI data centers.
SK hynix has run a corporate venture capital organization since 2015, making direct investments and indirect investments through fund commitments in early-stage semiconductor and emerging technology companies. Investments in the United States, China, Israel and Japan have produced returns of more than twice its cumulative investment to date, and work with portfolio companies, including joint equipment development and proof-of-concept projects, has led to new supply chains and customers, according to the company.
The operation had focused on technology sensing and path finding. The company now plans to broaden its investment scope from semiconductors and emerging technology to AI computing, data centers, system software and optical interconnect, seeking technologies and companies it considers to have high growth potential. Kwak said competitiveness in the AI era rests not only on securing innovative technology quickly but on ecosystem capabilities in which customers, partners and startups create new value together, and that SK hynix Ventures would support the growth of promising companies.
