Samsung accelerates custom HBM4E design, expected completion by mid-2026; SK Hynix and Micron follow suit.

As the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) technology race enters a fever pitch, leading memory chipmakers are rapidly advancing into the customized HBM4E field. Samsung Electronics has significantly increased its R&D investment and is expected to complete the design of its customized HBM4E by mid-2026, marking a shift for next-generation memory technology from standardized products to high-performance customized solutions catering to specific customer needs. According to The Elec, Samsung Electronics plans to finish the design of its customized HBM4E between May and June 2026. This timeline indicates that, although HBM4 remains primarily a standardized product, the industry's focus is quickly moving toward customized HBM4E and future HBM5. At the same time, competitors SK Hynix and Micron are also advancing on similar schedules, and the main memory manufacturers are making comparable progress in R&D for next-generation technologies. To meet rapidly increasing customization demand, Samsung has adopted an aggressive strategy: not only establishing dedicated HBM teams for standardized and customized designs, but also recently hiring 250 engineers specifically for customized projects. Target customers include tech giants such as Google, Meta, and NVIDIA. The industry broadly expects HBM4E to be launched in 2027, and HBM5 is anticipated to debut in 2029. This strategic shift not only reflects the surge in differentiated hardware demand in the high-performance computing market but also will reshape collaboration models between memory manufacturers and foundries. As the logic functions integrated into base dies become increasingly complex, the introduction of advanced process technologies is critical. Leading manufacturers are charting different technical paths and forming various partnerships in a bid to secure an advantageous position in the future AI computing power competition. Samsung Bets Big on Customized HBM Samsung Electronics is accelerating its HBM4E R&D process. According to The Elec, the company has entered the back-end design stage for its base die. The entire design cycle for HBM typically lasts about 10 months, with the back-end design accounting for 60% to 70% of that timeline. This phase mainly involves physical design—laying out and connecting circuits after the front-end RTL logic development is complete. Once finished, the final design data is sent to a foundry for tape-out and manufacturing. The base die plays a central role in the HBM architecture, managing stacked DRAM data read/write operations and error correction, directly determining overall performance and stability. As a result, customers increasingly insist on integrating additional logic functions into the base die, driving demand for customized HBM. In process technology terms, Samsung is seeking a substantial leap forward. According to ZDNet, Samsung’s commercial HBM4 base die this year uses a 4nm process, while for customized HBM, the company plans to further adopt a 2nm node to achieve even higher performance breakthroughs. SK Hynix and Micron Rely on TSMC Ecosystem While Samsung advances its in-house technologies, SK Hynix and Micron are tackling customization challenges by deepening their cooperation with TSMC. Industry insiders cited by The Elec report that SK Hynix and Micron expect to complete their respective customized HBM4E development on schedules similar to Samsung, and the three leading manufacturers are currently at comparable stages of R&D progress. ZDNet reports that SK Hynix is closely collaborating with TSMC to develop next-generation HBM base dies and other advanced products, also working with SanDisk to promote international standardization of high-bandwidth flash (HBF). For process selection, Korean Financial Times notes SK Hynix will use TSMC’s 12nm process for mainstream server base dies, but upgrade to 3nm for high-end designs such as NVIDIA’s flagship GPUs and Google TPUs. For Micron, Tom’s Hardware previously reported that the company has commissioned TSMC to manufacture its HBM4E base logic die, aiming to begin production in 2027. However, reports indicate that Micron remains committed to existing DRAM process technologies to control costs, considered a structural disadvantage in the customized HBM race. Although Micron has started exploring TSMC processes for HBM4E, industry watchers broadly believe its pace in this arena may lag behind Samsung and SK Hynix. Risk Warning and Disclaimer The market carries risks, and investments should be made cautiously. This article does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it take into account the unique investment objectives, financial situations, or needs of individual users. Users should assess whether any opinions, viewpoints, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their individual circumstances. Investing on this basis is at your own risk.