SK hynix leads AI chip race with early HBM4 shipments
SK hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, said Wednesday it unveiled a sample of its next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips during GTC 2025, an annual tech conference hosted by the US chip giant Nvidia.
At its booth, titled 'Memory, Powering AI and Tomorrow,' the company presents HBM, memory products for AI data centers, on-device memory, and memory solutions for automotive businesses until Friday in San Jose, California.
Among its featured products is the 12-layer HBM3E, currently the most advanced HBM in mass production.
The company is also introducing a prototype of the next-generation 12-layer HBM4, which is still under development, as well as a small outline compression attached memory module, a low-power DRAM-based memory module optimized for AI servers.
SK hynix aims to expand mass production of 12-layer HBM3E chips this year while preparing for the production of 16-layer HBM3E chips in the first half of this year. The company is also gearing up for mass production of 12-layer HBM4 chips in the second half of this year, with supply expected to begin in alignment with customer demand.
Key SK hynix executives, including CEO Kwak Noh-jung and head of AI infrastructure and Chief Marketing Officer Kim Ju-seon, are set to meet with the leaders of the global AI industry during GTC 2025 to enhance collaboration.
'We are proud to present our line-up of industry-leading products at GTC 2025,' Kim said. 'With a differentiated competitiveness in the AI memory space, we are on track to bring our future as the full stack AI memory provider forward.'
Meanwhile, the memory chipmaker said on Wednesday that it has shipped samples of the world's first 12-layer HBM4 to its major customers.
'We have shipped 12-layer HBM4 samples earlier than originally planned and initiated the certification process with our customers. We'll also complete mass production preparations within the second half of the year, solidifying our position in the next-generation AI memory market,' an SK hynix official said.
While the company did not disclose its customers, major US tech firms, including Nvidia and Broadcom, are believed to be among them.
Currently, SK hynix leads the HBM market with its industry-leading HBM3E products. HBM plays a critical role in graphics processing units, a market largely dominated by Nvidia.
Its crosstown rival Samsung Electronics aims to begin mass production of HBM4 in the second half of this year, while US-based Micron Technology has set a goal of mass-producing HBM4 within two years.
In particular, Micron is accelerating efforts to strengthen its HBM4 capabilities ahead of its planned release by enhancing collaboration with TSMC, the world's leading foundry company. This includes appointing former TSMC Chairman Mark Liu to its board of directors.
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