SK hynix Starts 1c GDDR7 Mass Production Plan

According to Korean media reports, SK hynix has started advancing production of its seventh-generation graphics memory (GDDR7) based on the 10nm-class sixth-generation (1c) DRAM process. Mass production is expected to begin as early as the end of this year at the company's Icheon M16 fab in Korea, with supply ramping up in 2026. Industry insiders suggest Tesla and NVIDIA may be among the first adopters.

Sources note that SK hynix is introducing the 1c process into GDDR7 to align with the launch schedules of next-generation products from its major partners. The company only began mass production of 16Gb GDDR7 based on the 1b DRAM process last year, yet it is already shifting toward a more advanced node, signaling an aggressive push in the graphics memory market.

Currently, Samsung dominates the GDDR7 space with 1b-based products, making SK hynix's move a clear statement of intent to take the lead. Analysts also point out that SK hynix's GDDR7 expansion is linked to rising costs in HBM4 production. Since the "base die" is outsourced to TSMC, its cost is about five to six times higher than in-house production, which is expected to push total HBM4 costs up by around 30% compared to HBM3E.

Against this backdrop, GDDR7 could serve as a strategic option for SK hynix to balance its portfolio and ease cost pressures. With demand for GPUs and high-performance computing accelerating due to AI and autonomous driving, competition in the graphics DRAM market is set to intensify further.