SK Hynix announced on May. 2. that it would start mass-producing its fifth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) with 12 layers, a key semiconductor for artificial intelligence (AI) in Q3, which is ahead of schedule. “HBM will be sold out this year and mostly next year,” SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung stated at a press conference held at the company’s headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do. “We will deliver samples of the 12-layer product to clients this month and are preparing for mass production in Q3.”
SK Hynix, previously ranked second in memory semiconductors for a decade, seized the opportunity presented by the AI boom in the latter half of 2022 to claim the top spot in AI memory. Despite facing challenges during the semiconductor recession in 2023, the company managed to mitigate its losses by leveraging its HBM technology. By Q4 of 2023, the company turned a profit. In Q1 of this year, the leading chipmaker surpassed Samsung Electronics in operating profit, with 2.88 trillion won (about $2.106 billion) compared to Samsung Electronics’ 1.91 trillion won (about $1.40 billion). This notable performance underscores the significance of SK Hynix’s strategy of being an early entrant into the market with next-generation semiconductors like HBM. This strategy aligns with the ongoing reorganization of the global semiconductor market around AI technologies.
In Q1 of 2022, SK Hynix’s revenue stood at 12.16 trillion won (about $8.9 billion), with an operating profit of 2.86 trillion won (about $2.09 billion). These figures were approximately half of Samsung Electronics’ revenue and one-third of its operating profit during the same period. SK Hynix attributes its current dominance in the AI memory market to strategic foresight rather than happenstance. “HBM technology didn’t just fall out of the sky,” Kwak said at a press conference on May. 2. “When other companies cut their investments by 10% in 2012 due to the memory recession, we increased the investments, including HBM, whose future was uncertain.”
