Micron's HBM production capacity is expected to double by the end of the year, catching up with Samsung and SK Hynix.

Micron Technology is aggressively expanding its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production capacity, aiming for a larger share of the global AI memory market.

According to Yonhap News Agency on the 4th, citing industry sources, Micron plans to increase its HBM monthly production capacity to approximately 100,000 wafers by the end of this year, nearly doubling its capacity from last year. This would reduce the capacity gap with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to about half of its current level. Simultaneously, the company is accelerating the ramp-up of its latest generation HBM4 12-layer products to meet the demands of Nvidia's next-generation AI accelerators.

This trend reflects the continued strong demand in the AI memory market. AI chip manufacturers, represented by Nvidia, maintain high demand for HBM, while supply still cannot keep up with the pace of demand. For Micron, which holds only an 18% market share and has long ranked third, this round of capacity expansion is both a crucial battle to regain market position and a necessary step to convert the AI memory demand dividend into actual revenue.

Production target: 100,000 units per month by the end of the year.

According to industry sources who spoke to the media, Micron plans to add up to 60,000 wafers per month in HBM capacity by the end of this year. Last year, the company's monthly HBM production was approximately 40,000 to 50,000 wafers, meaning the new capacity will exceed the existing base, with total capacity expected to reach approximately 100,000 wafers per month.

To achieve these goals, Micron is increasing its purchase orders with multiple HBM manufacturing equipment suppliers, and related equipment continues to be shipped to its factories in Taiwan and Singapore. Currently, Micron's HBM packaging business is mainly progressing at its Causeway plant in Taiwan and Woodlands plant in Singapore, while equipment investment at its Hiroshima plant in Japan is also in the planning stages.

In terms of product structure, Micron is rapidly shifting towards HBM4 12-layer. Currently, its HBM production is still mainly based on HBM3E 12-layer, but it is reported that the proportion of HBM4 12-layer will increase from 20% to 30% at the beginning of this year to a maximum of 50% by the end of the year.

HBM4 12-layer is the memory module that powers NVIDIA's latest AI accelerator, "Vera Rubin," and Micron began mass production of the product in the second quarter of this year. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra stated at the Q3 2026 earnings call in June that the production ramp-up rate for HBM4 12-layer is approximately twice that of HBM3E 12-layer, and that cumulative HBM4 shipment revenue has exceeded $1 billion.

Market Landscape: The Gap Between the Top Three Players May Narrow Significantly

Although Micron is one of the world's three largest HBM manufacturers, its production capacity still lags significantly behind Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Industry insiders generally believe that Samsung and SK Hynix each have a monthly HBM production capacity of approximately 150,000 to 200,000 wafers, three to four times that of Micron. If Micron cannot narrow this gap, it will be difficult to change its long-standing third-place market position.

According to data from market research firm Counterpoint Research, SK Hynix held the top spot in the global HBM market share in the second quarter of this year with 50%, followed by Samsung Electronics with 32% and Micron with 18%. If its capacity expansion targets are met as scheduled, the capacity gap between Micron and its two major competitors is expected to be reduced to half of its current level, potentially leading to a redistribution of market share.

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