SEOUL, South Korea: South Korean memory chip maker SK Hynix plans to price its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) at $149 each, raising about $26.5 billion in one of the largest U.S. share offerings by an Asian technology company, a person familiar with the matter said.

The offering reflects the company's growing role as the leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips, a key component used in advanced processors powering artificial intelligence systems.

Demand for the U.S. share sale exceeded available shares by more than seven times, another person familiar with the matter said, highlighting strong investor interest in companies benefiting from the AI boom.

SK Hynix declined to comment on the pricing or demand for the offering. The sources declined to be identified because details of the share sale remain confidential.

The ADRs are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq on Friday under the ticker symbol "SKHY." The company had previously indicated a reference price of 242,500 won per ADR based on its July 3 closing price in Seoul.

The proceeds will be used to finance new manufacturing facilities and equipment needed to meet growing demand for AI chips.

The U.S. listing is also expected to help narrow SK Hynix's valuation gap with U.S. rival Micron, which trades at a higher forward price-to-earnings ratio despite having a smaller share of the high-bandwidth memory market.

"SK Hynix leads on share and Nvidia proximity, Micron competes on power efficiency, U.S. positioning, and momentum from third place," said Daniel Newman, chief executive of research firm Futurum Group.

SK Hynix continues to compete with domestic rival Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chipmaker by volume.

The company has emerged as a major beneficiary of the AI boom after years of investing in high-bandwidth memory technology.

"As long as there is demand for graphic processors and AI data centers, SK Hynix is indispensable," said Yoo Hoi-jun, an electrical engineering professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology.

Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said last month that SK Hynix would remain the AI chipmaker's largest partner and predicted the global memory chip shortage would continue for several years because of strong demand.

Despite a recent pullback, SK Hynix shares have risen about 680% over the past 12 months as soaring AI-related demand boosted earnings. The ADRs will begin trading on Nasdaq on July 10, while the company's primary listing will remain in Seoul.