SK hynix to mass produce 12-layered HBM3E in Q3 as it looks to stay ahead of Samsung

SK hynix will begin mass production of 12-layered HBM3E chips in the third quarter, leaving no room for its cross-town rival Samsung Electronics to catch up in the AI memory chip business.

SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung speaks at a news conference at its Icheon, Gyeonggi headquarters on Thursday. [SK HYNIX]

SK hynix will begin mass production of 12-layered HBM3E chips in the third quarter, leaving no room for its cross-town rival Samsung Electronics to catch up in the AI memory chip business.

"The 12-high HBM3E chips will ship out samples in May and start mass production in the third quarter to solidify our technology leadership," said SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung at the company's first news conference held at its Icheon headquarters in Gyeonggi, on Thursday.

"Production of this year's HBM has already sold out, and for next year, it is nearly sold out."

The 12-layered HBM3E is what Samsung Electronics is banking on for future leadership in the profitable HBM market, as the eight-layered version, currently the industry's norm, is dominated by SK hynix.

SK hynix, a supplier to Nvidia, is currently the sole mass producer of eight-layered HBM3E chips, and its plan for the 12-layered one had been reserved for next year. However, SK hynix moved up the schedule in an apparent move to stay ahead of Samsung.

Samsung Electronics was the first to announce the development of 12-layered HBM3E technology in April, with a planned mass production period in the second quarter.

Behind SK hynix's strong grip on the HBM market was the company's continued investment despite not-so-favorable market conditions, according to Kwak.

"Since 2012, chipmakers around the world have been cutting back on their investment by more than 10 percent due to market downturns," said Kwak. "Nonetheless, SK Group went ahead with increasing its investment in diverse areas, which included HBM, which was still uncertain of its market feasibility at the time."

HBM, with its increasing complexity in design and manufacturing, is no longer considered a commodity like memory chips of the past. Achieving technological advancement in this sector, therefore, requires close partnership with clients and partners.

"Global partnerships are vital because HBM chips are more like customized chips," Kwak said. "SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won's global network played a big role in SK hynix excelling in the area."

SK hynix is known to be the sole HBM3 and HBM3E supplier to AI chip goliath Nvidia. It also recently announced a partnership with TSMC to develop the next-generation HBM4 together, sharing the Taiwanese chipmaker's logic die.

In the face of explosive growth in demand for AI memory chips, SK hynix has laid out ambitious plans to ramp up production of its advanced dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips.

It has pledged at least 20 trillion won ($15 billion) to build the DRAM fabrication line named M15X in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, following a near $4 billion investment in Indiana for chip packaging facilities.

It is also gearing up to break ground on the first of its four chip plants planned for a chip cluster in Yongin, Gyeonggi, where it promised 120 trillion won.

SK hynix toned down concerns of oversupply of DRAMs, saying the customization feature of HBM leads to a more visible demand forecast.

"HBM supply, unlike other commodity memory chips, is ramped up after negotiations with the clients are completed," Kwak said.

"We forecast the HBM market to continue growing after this year due to various elements such as increased parameters for generative AI models and modality expansions. We forecast an average annual growth of 60 percent."

Kwak said its HBM sales will accumulate to around $15 billion by the end of 2024, countering Samsung Electronics' announcement earlier in the day that its HBM sales by the end of 2024 are expected to surpass the $10 billion mark.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]