Samsung and SK Hynix are expected to announce massive AI-focused investment plans at a national briefing on June 29, 2026, with Samsung proposing a 1000 trillion won ($648 billion) ten-year spending plan, the largest in South Korean history. This unprecedented investment scale could transform the AI hardware supply chain, dramatically increasing the production capacity of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and other AI-critical chips, potentially accelerating AI development globally. The announcement will focus on semiconductors, AI data centers, and physical AI; however, shares of both companies fell over 9% on the same day due to concerns that Apple product price hikes could suppress demand for memory chips.
Background
Samsung and SK Hynix are the world's two largest memory chip manufacturers, dominating the market for DRAM and NAND flash. AI workloads require massive amounts of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), making these companies critical to AI infrastructure. The term 'physical AI' refers to AI systems that interact with the physical world, such as robotics and autonomous vehicles.