Samsung, SK hynix step up race for dominance in AI memory chips
Nvidia testing Samsung’s HBM for possible use, CEO says
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are locked in a fierce competition to lead the AI memory chip sector.
SK currently leads the market with the first mass production of HBM3E DRAM, the fifth-generation AI memory chip, and is supplying it to the U.S. AI chip design giant Nvidia.
In response, Samsung is developing the industry’s first 12-stack HBM3E DRAM, with Nvidia testing the product for potential use.
This highlights the intense competition between the two companies to dominate the AI memory chip sector.
On Tuesday, SK hynix announced the mass production of the world’s first HBM3E and confirmed plans to commence shipments to major customers by late March. HBM, short for High Bandwidth Memory, has gained significance as a crucial component of AI chips. HBM technology revolutionizes data processing speed by vertically connecting multiple DRAMs.
SK hynix announced its exclusive agreement to supply the eight-layer chips to Nvidia, a company that dominates over 80 percent of the AI chip market. SK’s HBM3E will be integrated into Nvidia’s upcoming next-generation AI chip, Blackwell, slated for release in the fourth quarter of this year, following the GH200, another AI chip set for release in the second quarter.
The company said its HBM3E boasts the highest level of performance in the industry across all critical aspects essential for AI memory chips, including speed and thermal control.
SK hynix surged ahead of memory semiconductor rivals Samsung Electronics and Micron, securing a 53 percent share of the market last year, according to market researcher TrendForce.
“With the success story of the HBM business and the strong partnership with customers that it has built up for years, SK hynix will cement its position as a total AI memory provider,” Ryu Sung-soo, head of the HBM business at SK hynix, said.
To catch up with the leader, Samsung also announced in February that it succeeded in developing the industry’s first 12-stack HBM3E DRAM, adding it would begin mass production in the first half of this year.
Both Samsung and SK unveiled their latest HBM products at the Nvidia GTC event, an AI conference hosted by the tech powerhouse in San Jose, Calif., starting Monday.
During a media conference held on the sidelines of the GTC event, Tuesday (local time), Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, said Samsung and SK hynix are important customers and that their partnership is helping Nvidia grow its AI chip business. Huang also mentioned that although the company is not currently utilizing Samsung’s products, Nvidia is conducting tests to evaluate the potential added value of the offerings.
“I am not using Samsung’s HBM3E yet. I am currently verifying it,” Huang said. “With the generative AI, DDR RAMs in all data centers will be replaced by HBMs, and the upgrade cycle of Samsung and SK hynix will be huge.”
Kyung Kye-hyun, president of Samsung’s chip division, said the company aims to regain the world’s top spot in the global semiconductor market in the next two to three years with the latest technologies, including cutting-edge AI memory semiconductors.
“This will be a year of full-scale recovery and growth in the semiconductor industry,” Kyung said during an annual meeting with shareholders in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. “We plan to regain the top spot in the semiconductor industry in two to three years.”
To that end, the company said it aims to lead the market by developing DDR5 DRAM using 12-nanometer manufacturing technology and securing dominance in the HBM market with its 12-layer stacked HBM products.