HBM4E delivery battle begins! SK Hynix follows Samsung's shipment pace, delivering 12-layer HBM4E samples.

SK Hynix announced on Thursday that it has delivered samples of its latest high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip the 12-layer HBM4E to its major global customers. South Korean companies SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics are among the world's largest memory chip manufacturers. SK Hynix is a major supplier of NVIDIA's HBM chips. Samsung and U.S. company Micron Technology also compete with SK Hynix in this field. HBM chips are used in AI processors manufactured by companies like NVIDIA. SK Hynix stated, "Thanks to the company's advanced R&D and production expertise in the HBM field, we were able to deliver samples of the 12-layer stacked HBM4E on schedule." The company added, "We will work closely with our partners to ensure timely mass production." The company noted that the 12-layer HBM4E has improved performance and power efficiency. The product has a maximum data processing speed of 16 Gbps per pin, and power efficiency has increased by over 20% compared to the previous generation. According to the company, these improvements enhance the data processing capabilities for AI training and inference. SK Hynix also mentioned that compared to the previous generation HBM4, its thermal performance has increased by 17%, allowing the memory chip to operate stably in high-performance computing environments. HBM4E sample delivery battle begins HBM4E is the seventh generation 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 to be released next year. On June 2, Jensen Huang visited SK Hynix's booth at the 2026 Taipei Computer Show in Taiwan and left a message on the HBM4E wafer: "Please produce more." It is reported that SK Hynix will use 1c nanometer technology on its core HBM4E chip, while the base wafers will be manufactured by TSMC using 3 nanometer technology. SK Group Chairman Choi Tai-young stated at the Taipei International Computer Show, "As long as the customers are ready, we are ready to go." He added, "Currently, we only have one HBM4E customer." In the HBM market, the timing of sample delivery is crucial. As the next generation HBM is custom-produced based on specific customer requirements, faster sample delivery speeds allow customers to quickly validate performance and complete optimization, gaining an advantage in the final mass production competition. On May 29, Samsung Electronics announced that it has started delivering the industry's first 12-layer 48GB HBM4E samples to major global customers. After completing initial sample delivery and optimization, Samsung plans to start mass production of HBM4E according to customer schedules. An industry insider stated, "For HBM, not only performance is crucial, but also important are shipment times and customer certification progress." He added, "In the second half of this year, the supply competition between the two companies (Samsung and SK Hynix) will intensify." In addition, Micron's HBM4 production capacity is progressing smoothly, with plans to mass produce HBM4E in 2027. It is reported that Micron's HBM4E will use a 10-nanometer-level sixth-generation 1 process, marking the first time Micron introduces EUV lithography equipment in a mass production process, and the base wafers will be manufactured by TSMC. TrendForce previously pointed out that the three major suppliers are gradually shifting the industry focus from yield competition to pricing power and dominance in next-generation specifications. While traditional DRAM profit margins temporarily surpass HBM, suppliers are maintaining a balanced product portfolio, and optimistic about the long-term contracts for HBM driving prices higher. Horizontally comparing, apart from HBM, various DDR and consumer-level storage products have already experienced multiple price increases and are currently at relatively high price levels, while the price increase dividend for HBM has yet to be fully released.