Dominating 80% of the HBM Market but Lacking AI's Soul: South Korea's Semiconductor Powerhouse Risks Becoming a High-End Foundry - finance.biggo.com

South Korean semiconductor giants, particularly Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, dominate over 80% of the global High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) market, positioning themselves as critical hardware suppli... Read original →

South Korean semiconductor firms, while commanding over 80% of the global HBM market, lag in core AI software technologies such as GPU design and large language models. This imbalance risks repositioning them as high-end foundries rather than innovation leaders within the AI ecosystem. Technologically, surging demand for AI computing infrastructure will boost development across the technology stack, yet a lack of software capabilities could limit overall solution competitiveness. Compliance and risk-wise, geopolitical tensions increase supply chain uncertainties, necessitating more localized production to mitigate rising operational costs due to external dependencies. Competitively, US companies may invest more heavily in memory technologies or seek alternatives, potentially eroding South Korean market share. Over the next 12-24 months, failing to address these software gaps could lead to intensified competitive pressures on South Korea's semiconductor industry.