SK Hynix is accelerating the launch of its next-generation AI memory chips after Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang asked the South Korean supplier if it can provide samples six months earlier than originally planned, signaling persistent global demand for cutting-edge semiconductors.
Huang raised the request regarding the upcoming high-bandwidth memory chips, or HBM4, during a recent meeting with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, the South Korean tycoon told reporters on the sideline of the SK AI Summit in Seoul on Monday. Chey said Huang has succeeded as a leader in part because of his emphasis on speed.
Consequently, SK Hynix said earlier this month that it is on track to supply customers with HBM4 in the second half of 2025, reaffirming a time line first offered in a post-earnings call in October. The South Korean company is the primary supplier of the HBM chips Nvidia depends on to make the US company’s artificial intelligence chips work.
Both Nvidia and SK Hynix have benefited from the insatiable appetite major companies and governments have for the California-based company’s cutting-edge chips, the gold standard for training AI algorithms. Whether SK Hynix can indeed deliver the next-generation AI memory in 2025, however, hinges on whether the South Korean chipmaker can complete Nvidia’s complex qualification process in time.
