SK Hynix, recognized as the second-largest memory chip manufacturer globally, is set to commence mass production of its HBM3E 12-layer chips by the end of this month, according to a senior executive's statement made on Wednesday.
Justin Kim, who serves as the president and head of the AI Infra division, shared this information during the Semicon Taiwan industry forum held in Taipei.
In July, the South Korean firm announced its intention to begin shipping the next iterations of HBM chips—the 12-layer HBM3E—starting in the fourth quarter, with plans for the HBM4 to follow in the latter half of 2025.
High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) is a type of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) that was first introduced in 2013, featuring vertically stacked chips to optimize space and minimize power usage. These advanced memory chips are particularly adept at supporting generative artificial intelligence (AI) tasks.
As a crucial element in graphics processing units (GPUs) for AI, HBM facilitates the processing of vast amounts of data generated by sophisticated applications.
In May, SK Hynix's CEO, Kwak Noh-Jung, indicated that the company's HBM chips were sold out for the current year and nearly depleted for 2025.
The primary manufacturers of HBM include SK Hynix, Micron, and Samsung Electronics.
SK Hynix has been a key supplier of HBM chips to Nvidia and delivered HBM3E chips to an undisclosed customer in late March.