The battle for HBM4E sample delivery has begun, with SK Hynix potentially advancing to June. Samsung has already taken the lead.

After Samsung Electronics delivered the world's first batch of HBM4E samples, SK Hynix is also expected to accelerate delivery progress. According to Korean media reports, industry sources revealed on the 12th that SK Hynix is preparing to provide HBM4E samples to major customers, with shipments possibly starting as early as this month (June) and no later than next month. This timing is earlier than originally planned. SK Hynix had previously stated in its first quarter earnings conference call that "internal plans are to provide samples in the second half of the year." Industry sources believe that considering HBM4E is scheduled to enter mass production next year, customer verification and optimization work must be done in the second half of this year, so sample supply is imminent. HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) is a core component of AI accelerator chips, with its bandwidth and capacity directly determining the efficiency of AI training and inference. Currently, the HBM market is dominated by Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, with SK Hynix being the market leader in the current HBM market share. HBM4E is the seventh generation of HBM, and it is expected that SK Hynix's HBM4E will be used in Nvidia's next-generation AI accelerator "Rubin Ultra," which is planned for release next year. On June 2nd, Jensen Huang visited SK Hynix's booth at the 2026 Taipei International Computer Exhibition held in Taiwan, China, and left a message on the HBM4E wafer: "Please produce more." It is reported that SK Hynix will use 1c nanometer technology on its HBM4E core chip, while the base wafer will be produced by TSMC using 3 nanometer technology. SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won stated at the Taipei International Computer Exhibition, "As long as the customer is ready, we are ready at any time." He also added, "Currently, we only have one HBM4E customer." In the HBM market, the timing of sample delivery is crucial. Since the next generation HBM is customized production based on specific customer requirements, faster sample delivery speeds can allow customers to verify performance faster and complete optimization, gaining an advantage in the final mass production competition. On May 29th, Samsung Electronics announced that it has started delivering the industry's first batch of 12-layer 48GB HBM4E samples to major global customers. After completing initial sample delivery and optimization, Samsung plans to begin mass production of HBM4E according to customer schedules. An industry source said, "For HBM, not only is performance crucial, but shipping time and customer certification progress are also crucial." He added, "In the second half of this year, competition between the two companies (Samsung and SK Hynix) in supply will further intensify." In addition, Micron's HBM4 production capacity is progressing smoothly, planning to mass produce HBM4E in 2027. It is rumored that their HBM4E will use a 10 nanometer sixth generation 1 process, marking the first time Micron introduces EUV lithography equipment in its mass production process, with the base wafer manufactured by TSMC. TrendForce previously pointed out that the above three major suppliers are gradually shifting their industry focus from yield competition to pricing power and domination of next-generation specifications. Although traditional DRAM profit margins have temporarily surpassed HBM, suppliers are maintaining balanced product portfolios and are optimistic about the long-term contract price increases for HBM. In comparison, all types of DDR and consumer-level storage other than HBM have already experienced multiple price increases in the early stages and are currently relatively high-priced, while the price increase benefits of HBM have yet to be fully realized.