SK Hynix's crucial battle! Report: Final samples of HBM4 are about to be delivered, and if they pass NVIDIA's certification, mass production can begin this month.

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SK Hynix faces a critical turning point in the HBM market.

On March 10, Korean analyst Jukan from Citrini7 wrote on platform X that, according to semiconductor industry sources, the company will soon submit final samples of its sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) to Nvidia. If it passes Nvidia’s qualification tests, it is expected to receive mass production orders as early as this month.

These samples are the result of multiple rounds of design revisions by SK Hynix since the fourth quarter of last year, aiming to meet Nvidia’s 11.7 Gb/s maximum data transfer rate requirements.

The context for this certification test is particularly delicate. In February this year, Samsung Electronics already supplied some HBM4 products to Nvidia and claimed to have started mass production shipments without any redesign, thus gaining a head start in HBM4 commercialization. If SK Hynix fails this certification, the title of "main HBM4 supplier" could shift to Samsung.

A final push after multiple optimizations

The final HBM4 samples submitted by SK Hynix to Nvidia have undergone several rounds of optimization and iteration.

Citing semiconductor industry sources, the article noted that since certification tests began at the end of October last year, both parties had discovered compatibility issues between the Rubin GPU's specific circuits and HBM4. SK Hynix improved chip speed by enhancing circuit characteristics and narrowing inter-layer pitch of stacked chips, with Nvidia providing assistance on multiple fronts. The issues have now been resolved.

HBM4 is the core memory component for Nvidia’s next-generation AI accelerator, Rubin, expected to be released in the second half of this year. As SK Hynix's flagship product for 2025, HBM4 uses vertically stacked layers of DRAM chips, significantly surpassing traditional DRAM in both capacity and data transfer speed.

The key aspect of this certification is not only passing, but also product grading. Nvidia categorizes HBM products into Bin 1 (high-end) and Bin 2. The challenge for SK Hynix is to showcase its technical strength in the final samples and increase the proportion that meets the high-end Bin 1 tier in future supplies.

Samsung takes the lead, SK Hynix under pressure

Over the past few years, SK Hynix has secured over a 90% market share in AI accelerator HBM by forging deep ties with Nvidia, maintaining its status as a core Nvidia supplier. However, this landscape faces challenges as HBM4 enters commercialization.

In February, Samsung announced it had started mass shipping HBM4 to Nvidia, emphasizing it had achieved mass production without redesign, which the industry views as a major breakthrough in the HBM competition. In contrast, SK Hynix faced certification delays due to compatibility issues, putting its role as the main HBM4 supplier under substantial pressure.

According to industry observers cited in the article, whether the final samples pass certification will directly determine if SK Hynix can maintain its core position in Nvidia’s supply chain. If the certification is unsuccessful, Samsung could seize the main HBM4 supplier status and overturn the landscape in the AI memory market.

High-level diplomacy ramps up: Group chairman to attend GTC in person

In this critical phase of the technical sprint, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won will personally lead the HBM4 sales drive. According to sources quoted in the article, Chey will attend Nvidia’s GTC 2026 conference, opening March 16 in Silicon Valley, where he is expected to meet Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang again and present special reports on SK Hynix’s HBM technology capabilities.

Last month, Chey and Huang had a "fried chicken and beer" meeting in Silicon Valley, which further strengthened the partnership. This GTC trip is seen as high-level diplomatic coordination at a key technical certification juncture for SK Hynix, aimed at providing commercial support for securing mass production orders.

Breakthrough in 1c process LPDDR6 chip development

Beyond the HBM4 endeavor, SK Hynix today announced successful development of a 16GB LPDDR6 mobile chip based on the sixth-generation 10-nanometer (1c) process, the company’s most advanced DRAM node to date.

According to SK Hynix, the new product boasts over 33% faster data processing speeds and more than 20% improved energy efficiency compared to the previous generation. The company plans to complete mass production readiness in the first half of this year and begin shipments in the second half. The launch of the 1c process LPDDR6 demonstrates SK Hynix’s ongoing advances in DRAM technology, providing new support for its competitiveness in the mobile memory market.

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