SK Hynix chairman backs Nvidia dependence, demand outlook

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, whose conglomerate controls SK Hynix (NASDAQ: SKHY ), dismissed concerns Thursday about the memory giant’s exposure to Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA ).

He argued the chip giant remains indispensable to artificial intelligence infrastructure: “Without Nvidia, the AI ecosystem is not there,” Chey said in a CNBC interview at SK Hynix’s headquarters in Korea.

Nvidia Is SK Hynix’s ‘Most Important Customer’ “It’s the most important customer right now,” Chey said, adding: “I still believe that in the future, they are dominant.” Chey credited Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang for building the AI ecosystem alongside a wide network of partners rather than going it alone, calling that approach “the most important matter.” He also pushed back on the idea that SK Hynix depends on a single buyer, noting the company supplies Google, Microsoft and other hyperscalers. “I’m not really dependent on just one customer, but I just want to serve the largest customers in the world right now,” he said.

For Chey, Nvidia’s dominance is helping drive demand for SK Hynix’s memory rather than creating a concentration risk.

AI Customers Are Almost Doubling Their Memory Demands That ecosystem is currently demanding more than SK Hynix can supply. “Right now the demand is explosive,” Chey said. “All of my customers are asking for almost double their demand.” Capacity may take four to five years to expand, he said, describing the scramble as “like a war between everybody who wants that memory chip.” Without enough memory, customers “cannot produce their AI computing and AI chips.” Nvidia also depends on SK Hynix: its AI systems require the company’s high-bandwidth memory.

Jim Cramer recently said tech had become "hostage" to SK Hynix.

Chey warned next year could bring the worst memory shortages yet.

Prediction Markets Favor Nvidia To Remain The World’s Most Valuable Company Chey isn’t alone in expecting Nvidia to remain on top.

Polymarket traders currently give Nvidia a 73% chance of ending 2026 as the world’s most valuable company, well ahead of Apple at 14% and Alphabet at 12%.

Nearly $5.9 million has traded on the question.

Chey compared AI today to a four-year-old child whose memory needs will grow dramatically as it matures, forecasting AI-agent usage could increase 77-fold within five years. “This is not a normal thing from what we used to be in the memory business,” Chey said. “This is a kind of turning point for us.” Image: Shutterstock Read Also: IREN Jumps 10% as Microsoft Accepts First AI Data Center Under $9.7 Billion Deal