Three people familiar with the matter said South Korea's SK Hynix is in discussions with Intel to establish chip manufacturing operations within the US. The proposed partnership would utilize Intel's delayed manufacturing complex in Ohio through a lease agreement or a joint venture including cloud companies seeking to secure memory supply for AI accelerators. Shares of both firms rose on the news, though the talks remain exploratory and no final agreement exists.

Intel's Ohio project involves a planned $100 billion investment, but production at the first two fabrication plants has shifted to 2030 and 2031. SK Hynix denied that any specific plans have been confirmed, and reports suggest the South Korean government may block the export of sensitive high-bandwidth memory or advanced DRAM technology to the US.