SK hynix seeks global collaborations with custom HBM

[Courtesy of SK hynix Inc.]

SK hynix Inc. is poised to expand the AI semiconductor ecosystem via customized high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and global partnerships as it participates in a major global semiconductor exhibit.

According to the company on Tuesday, SK hynix head of package development Lee Kang-wook spoke at Semicon Taiwan 2024 in Taipei. During his presentation on HBM and advanced packaging technologies for the AI era, Lee projected an increase in the number of AI servers for training and inference in line with the advancement of HBM generations, highlighting the company’s commitment to technology leadership.

The chip industry expects the generative AI market to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 27 percent from 2023 to 2032, and the HBM market is also expected to grow rapidly. “HBM’s 6th generation, the HBM4 12-layer product, will be launched in 2025 and products will become more customized from the 7th generation, HBM4E, onwards. In response, we will build an ecosystem that meets customer demands,” Lee said, noting plans to improve packaging technology for next-generation HBM by applying advanced mass reflow-molded underfill (MR-MUF) to 12-layer products. This MR-MUF technology improves heat dissipation performance by 10 percent.

SK hynix is also aiming to expand its software ecosystem. The company recently applied to join the Unified Acceleration (UXL) Foundation, a Linux-based organization whose participants include global chip leaders such as Samsung Electronics Co., Intel Corp., Qualcomm Inc., and Google LLC. This move is seen as a counter to Nvidia Corp.’s closed CUDA ecosystem.

“It is to expand the ecosystem beyond exclusive partnerships. Although membership procedures have not been finalized, joining UXL will allow us to actively contribute to the ecosystem,” SK hynix Vice President Joo Young-pyo said.

SK hynix President Kim Ju-seon will be a keynote speaker at the chip exhibit on Wednesday, the company said.