SK Hynix has rolled out a roadmap indicating that the company will continue to dominate production of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) that is indispensable for AI. The lead that the company has gained over rival memory makers Samsung and Micron will face stiffer competition, industry experts told EE Times.

SK Hynix said last month at an industry event that it may be the first to introduce next-generation HBM4 in 2025. At that event, the company showed a presentation slide of two HBM3E modules packaged inside Nvidia’s Grace Hopper GH200 GPU (see illustrations). SK Hynix SVP Ilsup Jin, who leads the company’s DRAM and NAND tech development, said at ITF World in Antwerp last month that the company’s next-generation HBM4 may be available ahead of expectations.

“HBM4 is coming pretty quick,” Jin said. “It’s coming next year.”

“SK Hynix was an early adopter, and they got out ahead,” Samavedam told EE Times. “Micron is not far behind. They came out with some really competitive HBM offerings last year and an HBM3E offering this year, as well.”

SK Hynix has the leading HBM market share, with over 85% in HBM3 and above 70% in overall HBM, SemiAnalysis Chief Analyst Dylan Patel told EE Times earlier this year. The competition is expected to get stronger, according to Sri Samavedam, SVP of CMOS technologies at global R&D organization imec.

 ----Form EE Times