SK Hynix & Samsung Witness Surge in HBM3 Demand, All Orders Sold Out Till 2025

HBM Memory Prices Reaches An All-Time High, 500% Surge Amid Huge Demand 1

Samsung & SK Hynix are in a "serious" race for HBM3 dominance, as both companies witness a huge influx of orders from the AI industry.

Korean outlet, ZDNET, reports that Samsung and SK Hynix are currently in the lead when it comes to manufacturing and supplying HBM to global clients that include the likes of AMD and NVIDIA. The rapid increase in the need for AI GPUs such as NVIDIA's H100s has prompted in proportional effect on HBM demand, which is why memory manufacturers like Samsung and SK Hynix have stepped in to capitalize on the opportunity. SK Hynix revealed in the company's Q3 earnings that all orders for HBM have been sold out for the next year, and the situation is similar at Samsung's camp as well.

HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) is a crucial component in the highly-demanded AI GPUs, offering high transfer speeds, faster bandwidth, and increased memory capacities, which is why companies have diverted their focus toward its development. Giving a quick recap, SK Hynix currently holds the lion's share in the HBM industry, however, competitors like Samsung are rapidly catching up. SK hynix recently managed to secure orders from NVIDIA and AMD, along with sampling its next-gen HBM3E memory to NVIDIA and other potential clients.

The advent of HBM3e will mark a new transition in the industry, since the process is expected to bring huge performance gains and will likely debut in NVIDIA's Blackwell AI GPUs along with Team Red's Instinct MI400s. Memory manufacturers are moving quickly when it comes to developing existing facilities to cope with the immense "hype" surrounding HBM3e, and the statement by SK Hynix backs the claim that HBM3e has great importance for the future of AI computing. SK Hynix believes that the HBM industry can increase by 60-80% over the next five years, with the company's market share retaining dominance.

In terms of competitors like Samsung, well things do look positive. The company has recently unveiled its "Shinebolt" HBM3e memory, which pledges faster speeds than its competitors. The surge in AI developments has definitely prompted rapid growth in the AI industry, creating a gap for other players to enter as well

News Source: ZDNet Korea