NVIDIA May Spur Samsung, SK Hynix HBM Rivalry

According to South Korean media outlet BusinessKorea, demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) due to its use in AI chips has significantly driven up prices since the beginning of 2023, with the cost of HBM3 rising over five times. This price increase will likely impact the cost of AI chips, particularly for major players such as NVIDIA.

In response, rumors suggest that NVIDIA may be attempting to influence competition between Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to lower HBM prices. On April 25, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won traveled to Silicon Valley to meet with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, which may be related to these tactics.

While NVIDIA has been testing Samsung’s leading 12-layer stacked HBM3E for over a month, it has yet to place any orders, which the market interprets as a strategic move to encourage price competition between Samsung and SK Hynix.

In its recent Q1 earnings call, Samsung announced plans to continue increasing HBM supply to meet the growing demand for AI applications. This month, Samsung began mass-producing 8-layer stacked HBM3E and plans to begin mass-producing 12-layer stacked HBM3E in the second quarter.

SK Hynix President Kwak Noh-Jung stated during the company's Q1 earnings call that its 2025 AI chipset HBM supplies are nearly sold out, and the 2024 supplies are already fully booked. He mentioned that samples of 12-layer stacked HBM3E will be delivered in May, with mass production expected to begin in the third quarter. SK Hynix is currently negotiating long-term contracts for HBM with several customers.