SK Hynix’s shares surged by more than 9% on Thursday as the South Korean company commenced mass production of its most advanced high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, known as HBM3E. These chips, featuring 12 layers and a 50% larger capacity than the previous generation, represent a critical advancement in the ongoing race to meet the growing demand driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
As the second-largest memory chipmaker globally, SK Hynix outpaced its larger rival, Samsung Electronics, whose shares rose by 4%. Both companies benefited from an optimistic market outlook for AI demand, particularly following positive statements from U.S. chipmaker Micron.
SK Hynix announced that it is the first to produce the latest-generation HBM3E chips and expects to supply them to undisclosed customers by the end of the year. These chips are essential for processing the vast amounts of data needed to train AI systems, and they play a significant role in Nvidia’s graphics processing units. Nvidia has relied on SK Hynix as its main supplier for HBM chips.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics, which stated in July that it plans to supply its own 12-high HBM3E chips in the latter half of 2024, is positioning itself to compete in the expanding market. Similarly, Micron reported that it had begun shipping production-ready HBM3E chips earlier this month to key industry partners for qualification.
The overall benchmark South Korean stock index increased by 1.7% during the same period.
Featured Image courtesy of Free Malaysia Today
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