SK hynix ships HBM4E chip samples to global customers - Yonhap News Agency

SK Hynix announced on June 18 that it has begun shipping samples of its latest high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip, the 12-layer HBM4E, to major global customers. This marks another significant step in t... Read original →

SK hynix’s shipment of 12-layer HBM4E samples to NVIDIA and AMD signals that the AI memory race has shifted from specs to yield stability. Technically, denser 3D stacking pressures TSV yields and CoWoS capacity, raising capex barriers for OSATs and foundries alike. On compliance, tightening U.S.-ROK export controls on advanced packaging may force customers in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong, China to accelerate localized validation, inflating supply chain redundancy costs. Countering Samsung’s one-month lead, SK hynix is deepening IP integration with GPU leaders to lock in design wins via system-level co-optimization. Over the next 18 months, HBM4E will define AI chip energy efficiency—but the real battleground lies in the HBM5 transition by 2027. Leadership hinges on who masters TSV scaling and hybrid bonding yields, thereby controlling memory dominance in next-gen AI infrastructure.