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SK
hynix overtakes Samsung as top DRAM supplier
By Park Jongmin, DongA Ilbo - SK hHynixhas overtaken Samsung Electronics to become the world’s largest supplier of DRAM by revenue, marking the first time the company has led the global market.
According to market
research firm Counterpoint Research on April 9, SK hynix captured 36% of global
DRAM revenue in the first quarter of 2025, ahead of Samsung at 34% and
U.S.-based Micron at 25%.
The company’s rise has
been fueled largely by its dominance in the high-bandwidth memory, or HBM,
sector, where it holds a 70% share. “This is an important milestone,” said Choi
Jeong-gu, a senior analyst at Counterpoint. “SK hynix is successfully meeting
the surging demand for HBM in an AI-driven market.”
HBM is a type of
high-performance DRAM built by vertically stacking multiple layers to allow for
ultra-fast data processing. While more complex and expensive to produce than
conventional DRAM, HBM is increasingly essential for high-speed computing,
particularly in artificial intelligence training environments.
SK hynix was the first
company to develop HBM in 2013, though demand at the time was minimal. With the
recent boom in AI technologies, demand has surged, as HBM enables data transfer
speeds aligned with the processing power of high-end GPUs.
The company is
currently supplying its fifth-generation HBM3E chips to clients including
Nvidia, and is considered a front-runner in developing the next-generation
HBM4.
Counterpoint forecasts
SK hynix is likely to expand its market share further in the second quarter of
2025. Despite concerns over the ongoing U.S.-China tariff conflict, analysts
expect the HBM market to remain relatively insulated due to continued investment
in AI data centers.
Source: https://www.donga.com/en/article/all/20250410/5543350/1
