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SK hynix to exit image sensor business and focus on AI

Published: 06 Mar. 2025, 17:05 Updated: 06 Mar. 2025, 18:18

SK hynix's headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi [YONHAP]

Chip giant SK hynix said Thursday it had decided to withdraw from the image sensor business for smartphones and digital cameras to focus on AI memory in a bid to strengthen its competitiveness as a leading AI memory provider.

“In order to solidify our position as a global AI company, we will integrate the image sensor business unit into the AI memory business,” SK hynix said in a release.

The company said the decision would allow it to sharpen its focus on AI memory and establish itself as a “full-stack AI memory provider,” offering a broad array of AI-centric memory products and technologies.

“With the rise of the AI era, our company has made significant achievements in AI memory and now faces a turning point to become a leader in the AI industry,” the company said. “We made the decision to consolidate our capabilities and strengthen our AI memory competitiveness.”

SK hynix entered the image sensor, or complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensor (CIS), market in 2008 and launched its CIS brand, Black Pearl, the following year. However, the business has struggled with low profit amid intensifying competition and declining demand for smartphones.

A CIS is a semiconductor that converts light into digital images using complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology. It is widely used in many devices, including smartphones, digital cameras and security systems.

Yonhap