By By Asia Today and translated by UPI
Publication Date: 2026-02-20 02:49:00
A flag of Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest maker of computer memory chips and smartphones, flutters outside its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, 29 January 2026. Samsung said it posted a record operating profit of 20.07 trillion won (13.9 billion US dollars) in the fourth quarter of 2025, driven by strong sales of premium semiconductor products, including high-bandwidth memory, amid the global artificial intelligence boom. File. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
Feb. 19 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s leading memory chipmakers are escalating competition in the next-generation high bandwidth memory, or HBM4, market, as analysts say Nvidia could emerge as the biggest beneficiary.
Samsung Electronics has announced mass production and shipments of HBM4, positioning itself for a direct challenge to SK hynix, which has led the HBM segment by supplying chips for Nvidia’s artificial intelligence accelerators.
Samsung is seeking to expand its presence through rapid verification and production, while SK hynix is leveraging long-term supply experience and established ties with Nvidia to defend its market leadership.
Market research firm TrendForce said global memory makers are in the final stages of HBM4 certification, with completion expected around the second quarter of 2026. Samsung is projected to move quickly on verification, followed by SK hynix and Micron. If all three join Nvidia’s supply chain, the market could shift to a three-player structure.
Analysts caution that…
