SK Hynix said on Friday that its next-generation High Bandwidth Memory 4 (HBM4) chip has completed the internal certification process and set up a production system for customers as it strives to maintain its lead over rivals. The South Korean chipmaker is a core supplier to artificial intelligence giant Nvidia. In March this year, SK Hynix revealed that it had delivered 12-layer stacked HBM4 chip samples to customers and stated that it planned to complete mass production preparations for 12-layer HBM4 products in the second half of this year.
HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) is a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) standard first launched in 2013. It saves space and reduces power consumption by vertically stacking chips to help process the massive data generated by complex artificial intelligence applications.
Kim Sunwoo, a senior analyst at Meritz Securities, predicts that SK Hynix’s share of the HBM market will remain at just over 60% in 2026 (its market share this year is 66%) thanks to the early supply of HBM4 chips to core customers and the resulting first-mover advantage.
Currently, SK Hynix is Nvidia's main HBM supplier. Samsung Electronics and Micron also supply HBM chips to Nvidia, but in relatively small quantities.
Affected by the positive impact of SK Hynix's HBM4 chip production plan, the company's stock price closed at a record high, up 7%, closing at 328,500 won (approximately $236.71), a rise that far exceeded the 1.5% increase in the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI); Samsung Electronics' stock price closed up 2.7%.
"Samsung Electronics has been lagging behind in the competition in the HBM field, but the company is trying to narrow the gap - SK Hynix's HBM4 chip uses a 1b nanometer process, while Samsung plans to use a more advanced 1c nanometer process," said Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities.
Liu Yinghao added that Samsung’s past performance in the HBM field has been relatively poor, and its shift to more advanced processes this time shows that it is increasing its efforts to catch up with competitors.
Samsung Electronics said in July that it had provided samples of HBM4 chips to customers and planned to start supply next year.
An SK Hynix executive revealed in an interview with Reuters last month that due to changes in the manufacturing technology of next-generation HBM4 chips between SK Hynix and competitors such as Micron and Samsung, their products all contain a "customized logic chip" (also known as a "base chip"), which is used to manage memory.
This means that it is no longer possible to easily replace a competitor's memory product with an almost identical chip or product.
Since the beginning of this year, SK Hynix’s share price has risen by 88.9%, far exceeding the 41.5% rise of the Korea Composite Stock Price Index; during the same period, Samsung Electronics’ share price has risen by 41.7%, and the share price of Micron Technology, which is listed on Nasdaq, has risen by 78.9%.