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Nvidia supplier SK Hynix says its high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI processors almost sold out for 2025
- SK Hynix has already sold out its high-bandwidth memory chips for this year, as enterprises aggressively expand AI services
- The South Korean memory chip maker forecast annual demand growth for HBM chips to be about 60 per cent in the mid- to long-term
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South Korea’s SK Hynix said on Thursday that its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) processors were sold out for this year and almost sold out for 2025, as businesses aggressively expand AI services.
The Nvidia supplier and the world’s second-largest memory chip maker will begin sending samples of its latest HBM chip, called the 12-layer HBM3E, in May and begin mass-producing them in the third quarter.
“The HBM market is expected to continue to grow as data and [AI] model sizes increase,” SK Hynix chief executive Kwak Noh-Jung told a news conference. “Annual demand growth is expected to be about 60 per cent in the mid- to long-term.”
SK Hynix, which competes with US rival Micron Technology and domestic behemoth Samsung Electronics in HBM, was until March the sole supplier of these chips to Nvidia, according to analysts, who added that major AI chip buyers are keen to diversify their suppliers to better maintain operating margins. Nvidia commands some 80 per cent of the global AI chip market.
Micron has also said its HBM chips were sold out for 2024 and that most of its 2025 supply was already allocated. It plans to provide samples for its 12-layer HBM3E chips to customers in March.
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