SEOUL, April 3 (Reuters) - SK Hynix, the

world's second-largest memory chip maker, said on Wednesday it

will invest around $3.87 billion to build an advanced packaging

plant and research and development facility for AI products in

the U.S. state of Indiana.

The new plant will include an advanced chip production line

to mass-produce next-generation high bandwidth memory (HBM)

chips, currently used in graphic processing units that train

artificial intelligence systems, the Nvidia ( NVDA ) supplier

said in a statement.

Mass production is planned to start in the second half of

2028. The new facility in West Lafayette, Indiana will also

house a packaging R&D line.

The facility "will help strengthen supply chain resilience"

for AI chips in the U.S., CEO Kwak Noh-Jung said.

The engineering talent pool provided by the region's Purdue

University, infrastructure for chip manufacturing, and support

from the state and local government were factors in the

chipmaker's decision, it said.

SK pledged in 2022 to invest $15 billion in the

semiconductor industry through R&D programs, materials, and the

creation of an advanced packaging and testing facility in the

U.S.

Last month it began mass production of the latest version of

HBM chips, called HBM3E, with sources saying initial shipments

are going to Nvidia ( NVDA ).

SK Hynix has been the sole supplier of the version

previously used - the HBM3 - to Nvidia ( NVDA ), which has 80% of the

market for AI chips.