Samsung Electronics Co.'s sixth-generation high bandwidth memory chips, known as HBM4, have surpassed US$1 billion in sales, industry sources said Tuesday. The milestone comes just four months after the South Korean tech giant became the first company in the world to begin mass production and shipments of HBM4 chips in February.
Industry sources expect Samsung's HBM4 revenue to exceed $1.2 billion by the end of June. Samsung has rapidly expanded HBM4 shipments since the product's launch, helping it gain market share in the fast-growing HBM segment.
HBM4 chips are designed for next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators, including Nvidia Corp.'s Vera Rubin platform. Nvidia's graphics processing units are widely used in generative AI applications.
The global HBM market is currently dominated by fifth-generation HBM3E products. However, industry observers expect HBM4 to become a key growth driver as demand for advanced AI chips accelerates.
Samsung is expected to significantly increase HBM4 shipments through the end of the year, with annual sales projected to surpass $10 billion in 2026, the product's first year on the market. Industry sources said such a figure would be unprecedented for a newly launched memory product in its first year of mass production.
The global HBM market is estimated to reach $54.6 billion this year, up 58 percent from a year earlier, according to industry estimates.
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited the company's HBM packaging lines in Cheonan, some 86 kilometers south of Seoul, to inspect operations, production plans and technology development schedules, according to a separate source. "The Cheonan operation is emerging as one of the most important production hubs for Samsung's HBM business," the source said. "Lee's visit reflects his commitment [to the business]."