As Samsung missed the early AI boom, it failed to maintain its position in the growing HBM market. It has been trying hard to supply its fifth-generation HBM3E chips to the world’s largest AI chipmaker, Nvidia, but is still awaiting approval. The story may be different when it comes to the sixth-generation HBM4 chips, though. Samsung has learned from its mistake and is making early inroads to supply customized HBM4 to major clients, including NVIDIA, Broadcom, and Google.
The HBM market is growing rapidly due to increasing demand for AI computing and high-performance computing (HPC). But Samsung is still far behind its competitor, SK Hynix — the global leader in this space. In its Q1 2025 financial report, Samsung said its low HBM sales are negatively impacting its overall memory business.
Samsung aims to start mass production of customized HBM4 ahead of rivals
While the company has invested heavily in HBM research and development, it is still struggling to gain a foothold in the market. The Korean firm aims to bounce back in this space with its customized HBM4 solution. According to a report from a Korean outlet, Hankyung, Samsung is negotiating with AI chip makers like Nvidia, Broadcom, and Google for the supply of customized 6th-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4).
Samsung aims to shake up the market by starting mass production of HBM4 before its rivals, such as SK Hynix. It plans to deliver its chips to clients in the first half of 2026. If this plan pans out, this will be a major breakthrough for the company, potentially helping it get back on track in the HBM market.
Early industry insights suggest Samsung is on track to achieve this goal, as it has secured over 40% yield in HBM4 logic die tests — the brain of the HBM4 chips. A 40% initial test production yield means that the Korean firm is now ready to push forward its HBM4 for mass production.
During its recent Q1 earnings call, Samsung said, “We’re expecting custom HBM4 projects to start contributing to revenue starting in 2026 alongside standard HBM4, and we are continuously making necessary investments to respond to customer demand for HBM4 and 4E.”
