Samsung Electronics Co. has announced ambitious plans to reinforce its presence in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip market in response to growing criticism regarding its performance in artificial intelligence-related technologies. Jun Young-hyun, the newly appointed co-CEO and head of the chip division, outlined strategies during the company’s shareholder meeting, signaling a drive toward innovation and market recovery.
Samsung plans to launch enhanced 12-layer HBM3E chips by the second quarter of this year, followed by the introduction of state of the art HBM4 chips later in the year. These advancements are part of Samsung’s effort to compete with industry leader SK Hynix Inc., which has already begun shipping the world’s first HBM4 samples ahead of schedule. Samsung aims to secure approval for its updated HBM3E designs from Nvidia, with the goal of catching up in the competitive HBM market. Jun emphasized that Samsung is focused on regaining ground lost to competitors and projected a recovery in the memory market in the latter half of the year, driven by rising demand in AI and mobile sectors. High-bandwidth memory, essential for high-performance computing, remains a lucrative area with its profitability less influenced by supply and demand fluctuations compared to other memory types.
Samsung’s initiatives highlight the company’s commitment to addressing shareholder concerns and boosting its competitiveness in the rapidly evolving AI chip sector.