The memory-chip shortages that are roiling the computer, car and device markets will probably persist beyond 2030, according to SK Hynix Inc. Chief Executive Officer Kwak Noh-Jung.

Customers are signing long-term contracts because “they believe that the shortage situation will last for longer,” Kwak said in his first-ever English language interview, following a record-setting U.S. stock offering by the South Korean company on Friday.

SK Hynix and its memory-chip peers — Samsung Electronics Co. and Micron Technology Inc. — have become major beneficiaries of the AI boom. A spending spree by data center operators has stoked the appetite for both conventional memory and a newer variety called high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, that works with AI systems.

The scramble has made it harder to satisfy broader demand for memory chips, creating shortages in areas like computers, phones and vehicles. SK Hynix’s analysis indicates the crunch may last until the next decade, Kwak said during the interview in New York. Customer signals also show an expectation of a prolonged period without enough memory chips, he said.

Kwak made the remarks after SK Hynix raised $26.5 billion with its American depositary receipt offering. It was the largest first-time share sale of its kind by a foreign company.

Kwak said that part of the rationale for the offering was to more closely collaborate with artificial intelligence customers and to increase access to AI talent. Asked whether SK Hynix would consider bringing memory manufacturing to the U.S., he said he wouldn’t rule out the idea. But sites would have to meet the company’s criteria for electricity, water and talent.

“We need to move to the center of AI in the U.S., to collaborate more closely with them and grow together and contribute to the AI ecosystem,” Kwak said.

The stock deal capped a remarkable comeback story. SK Hynix was born from a creditor-led bailout in South Korea of its two progenitors — LG Semiconductor and Hyundai Electronics — and the business struggled for years with boom-and-bust cycles.

The AI infrastructure build-out led by Nvidia Corp. has changed the equation. SK Hynix was a pioneer of HBM chips, which have proven invaluable when paired with Nvidia AI processors.

SK Hynix also has lined up more long-term contracts with customers, helping ease the risks of future gluts.

Micron, SK Hynix’s U.S. rival, also has predicted that the memory crunch will last for years.

“We currently do not have line of sight as to when memory supply will be able to catch up with increasing demand,” Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said last month in a post-earnings conference call.

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