(Bloomberg) -- SK Hynix Inc. plans to raise its dividend payout by 25% to roughly $2.1 billion from 2025 to 2027, reflecting the rapid growth it’s undergone since staking out a lead in the market for AI memory chips.

The Korean company pledged Wednesday to pay out 1,500 won a share in dividends over the next three years, equating to about 1 trillion won ($720 million) annually. And it left open the possibility of an earlier return for shareholders should the business outperform.

SK Hynix has in past years raced past larger rival Samsung Electronics Co. in selling the high-bandwidth memory used by Nvidia Corp. in chips for training AI. That lead widened as Samsung struggled to get Nvidia to certify its competing product, allowing rivals to carve out a greater share of a fast-growing market.

On Wednesday, Samsung elevated its chip business head just six months after the executive took the helm, a signal of the company’s resolve to catch SK Hynix in AI.

Jun Young-hyun, appointed in May to lead the semiconductor division, now also takes on the role of co-chief executive officer. That grants him direct oversight of the department’s day-to-day operations. He will personally oversee the memory division, an unusual move as the job typically falls to an executive who reports to him.

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