2025 Sees SK hynix's HBM Chips Fully Booked Amidst AI Surge

SK hynix, a key player in the artificial intelligence (AI) services sector, made a significant announcement on Thursday.

HBM Sales Reflect SK hynix's Market Leadership

Its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) processors, crucial components in AI chipsets, have been completely sold out for this year and are nearly sold out for 2025, as reported by Reuters, a clear indication of the high demand and market dominance of SK hynix.

According to Chief Executive Officer Kwak Noh-Jung, its HBM goods for this year have already sold out. In 2025, the company's HBM volumes were practically sold out due to the quick adoption of AI technology in a greater variety of on-device applications, including PCs, smartphones, and cars.

SK hynix Eyes Expansion in AI Chip Applications

Kwak stated at a press conference, "Currently, AI services are centered on data centers, but in the future, they are expected to rapidly expand to on-device AI such as smartphones, PCs and cars. This will lead to an explosive increase in demand for high-speed, high-capacity, and low-power memory chips specialized for AI."

Future of AI Memory: SK hynix's Strategy and Innovations

Kwak added, "Our company has secured the industry's top technology in each product, including HBM, TSV (through silicon via)-based high-capacity DRAM and high-performance eSSD (enterprise SSD). We will offer the world's best customer-customized memory solutions through strategic collaboration with global partner companies."

The market for HBM is anticipated to keep expanding as data and (AI) model sizes rise. In the medium to long term, an annual growth rate of roughly 60% is anticipated in demand.

The demand for fast-processing HBM chips has surged dramatically since generative AI services like OpenAI's ChatGPT started to gain traction internationally last year, according to The Korea Times. With more than half of the market share in the high-performance DRAM chip segment last year, SK hynix is in the lead.

SK hynix plans to start mass production of the 12-layer HBM3E, the fifth-generation HBM, in the third quarter and give customers sample goods in May. This is part of the company's plan to strengthen its position as a technology leader.

Photo: SK hynix Newsroom