South Korea’s SK Hynix, a top memory chip maker, expects the market for AI-specialized high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to grow by about 30% each year through 2030.
This positive outlook comes despite worries about price drops in the industry. Choi Joon-yong, head of HBM business planning at SK Hynix, told Reuters that AI demand is “very firm and strong.” He linked this growth to big investments in AI by cloud companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.
The forecast is cautious and factors in limits like energy supply. Still, Choi thinks the custom HBM market could hit tens of billions of dollars by 2030. SK Hynix is gearing up for this with next-gen HBM4 chips. These will have custom “base dies” tailored to client needs, making it hard for rivals to swap in their products. Big clients like Nvidia get personalized tweaks for better performance or power use. Smaller ones get standard options. “Each customer has different taste,” Choi said.
SK Hynix leads as Nvidia’s main HBM supplier, with Samsung and Micron trailing. This position has boosted SK Hynix’s stock, up 53.5% year-to-date as of August 11, 2025. That’s better than Samsung’s 33.5% rise and Micron’s 41.3% gain. The KOSPI index is up 33.6% in the same period.
HBM tech, launched in 2013, stacks DRAM chips to save space and cut power while handling huge AI data loads. It’s key for complex AI tasks. SK Hynix is confident in staying competitive amid tech shifts.
Broader trends show AI driving semiconductor demand. Reuters reports cloud firms may hike AI spending, directly boosting HBM buys. On X, analysts call AI growth “unhinged,” tying it to tariffs and innovations. Samsung warned of possible HBM3E oversupply, but SK Hynix remains upbeat.
Potential U.S. tariffs loom, with Trump floating 100% duties on non-U.S. made chips. However, South Korea’s trade envoy says SK Hynix and Samsung might dodge them due to U.S. investments, like SK Hynix’s Indiana plant for chip packaging and AI R&D. Korea’s chip exports to the U.S. hit $10.7 billion last year.
