Shares of SK Hynix soared over 9% on Thursday after the South Korean company announced the commencement of mass production of its latest high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. This strategic move positions SK Hynix ahead in the competitive landscape driven by increasing demand from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
As the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, SK Hynix’s performance outpaced its larger rival Samsung Electronics, whose shares also gained 4%, buoyed by Micron’s optimistic outlook regarding AI demand. SK Hynix revealed that it has launched its latest-generation HBM product, HBM3E, which features 12 layers and offers 50% greater capacity than the previous eight-layer versions.
The company, a primary supplier of HBM chips to Nvidia, intends to deliver these advanced products to undisclosed customers by the end of the year. HBM chips are essential for processing vast amounts of data necessary for training AI technology and are critical components of Nvidia’s graphics processing units.
In a related development, Samsung Electronics announced in July that it plans to provide its production-ready HBM3E 12-high units to customers in the latter half of this year. Meanwhile, Micron stated earlier this month that it is shipping production-capable HBM3E 12-high units to key industry partners for qualification.
Overall, the South Korean stock index climbed 1.7% on the news, reflecting investor confidence in the burgeoning AI-driven semiconductor market.
