SK hynix to supply 16-layer HBM3E samples to Nvidia early next year

SK hynix’s HBM3E is on display at the SK AI Summit 2024, held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 4th. (Yonhap)

SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung announced on Monday that the company will supply samples of its next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the “48GB HBM3E 16-layer” model, to clients early next year. This move is seen as a bid to solidify the chipmaker’s leadership in the HBM market, building upon its exclusive supply relationship with Nvidia, a major player in the AI semiconductor sector.

During his keynote speech at the “SK AI Summit 2024,” Kwak projected that the market for 16-layer HBM would fully open with the advent of HBM4. In preparation, SK hynix is focused on securing technical stability by developing the 48GB HBM3E 16-layer model, which is slated for sample distribution to customers in early 2024. The HBM technology involves stacking DRAM chips vertically to increase capacity—the higher the stack, the greater the memory capacity. For instance, while the 12-layer HBM3E features 12 stacked 3GB DRAM chips, totaling 36GB, the 16-layer model stacks 16 such chips, achieving a total capacity of 48GB. HBM’s high data bandwidth and capacity make it essential in AI accelerators.

Kwak emphasized the performance improvements of the 16-layer model, saying that it enhances training performance by 18 percent and inference performance by 32 percent compared to the 12-layer HBM3E. He highlighted that the company has already validated mass production feasibility for the 12-layer model using advanced MR-MUF technology and is developing next-generation packaging techniques like hybrid bonding.

Reaffirming its commitment to lead the HBM market, SK hynix pointed to its accomplishments earlier this year, including launching the industry’s first 8-layer HBM3E in March and beginning mass production of the 12-layer version last month. The company’s roadmap includes delivering the 16-layer HBM3E by mid-2024, followed by HBM4 and HBM4E in 2025–2027 and HBM5 and HBM5E between 2028 and 2030.

Kwak also mentioned that, beginning with HBM4, SK hynix plans to incorporate logic processing into the base die layer, an innovation made possible through a “one-team partnership” with the world’s top foundry partner, TSMC.