SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea’s SK Hynix said on Friday it has completed its internal certification process for next generation high-bandwidth memory 4(HBM4) chips and established a production system for customers.
In March, the South Korean chipmaker, a key supplier to AI giant Nvidia, said it had shipped its HBM4 12-layer chip samples to customers, adding that the company aims to complete preparations for mass production of 12-layer HBM4 products within the second half of this year.
HBM – a type of dynamic random access memory or DRAM standard first produced in 2013 – involves stacking chips vertically to save space and reduce power consumption, helping to process the large volumes of data generated by complex AI applications.
SK Hynix shares hit a record high in morning trade, rising as much as 7.3%, outpacing the benchmark KOSPI’s 1.2% rise, as analysts cited the company’s HBM4 chip production plans.
Kim Sunwoo, a senior analyst at Meritz Security, projected that SK Hynix’s HBM market share will remain in the low 60% range in 2026, supported by early HBM4 supply to key customers and the resulting first-mover advantage.
SK Hynix is currently the main HBM supplier to Nvidia, although Samsung Electronics and Micron supply it with smaller volumes.
Samsung said in July that it had provided samples of its HBM4 chips to customers, with a plan to supply them next year.
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Jihoon Lee; Editing by Ed Davies)
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