Samsung shipped the first HBM4E samples in May 2026, ahead of SK hynix
15 Jun 20264 min read
Summary
- Samsung Electronics began shipping 12-layer HBM4E samples on 29 May 2026, the first supplier to do so, according to Samsung.
- TradingKey reported on 29 May that SK hynix was expected to ship HBM4E samples in the second half of 2026, putting Samsung about six months ahead.
- SK hynix said in October 2025 that its 2026 HBM capacity was sold out; on 2 June 2026 Nvidia's Jensen Huang wrote "Please Make More" on an SK hynix HBM4E wafer.
Samsung Electronics began shipping samples of its 12-layer HBM4E memory to customers on 29 May 2026, making it the first supplier of the next-generation high-bandwidth memory, according to the Samsung Global Newsroom. Samsung’s customers include AMD, Nvidia and Google, Reuters reported, though neither report named which of them received samples.
High-bandwidth memory (HBM) is stacked memory packaged next to the processor in AI chips. The US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security described it in December 2024 as “critical to both AI training and inference at scale”. Samsung said its 12-layer HBM4E runs at up to 16Gbps, more than 20% faster than its HBM4, delivers up to 3.6 terabytes per second of bandwidth per stack and holds 48 gigabytes, more than 30% above the previous generation.
High-bandwidth memory (HBM) is stacked memory packaged next to the processor in AI chips. The US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security described it in December 2024 as “critical to both AI training and inference at scale”. Samsung said its 12-layer HBM4E runs at up to 16Gbps, more than 20% faster than its HBM4, delivers up to 3.6 terabytes per second of bandwidth per stack and holds 48 gigabytes, more than 30% above the previous generation.
How far ahead Samsung is
TradingKey, a financial markets analysis site, reported on 29 May 2026 that Samsung was six months ahead of SK hynix on HBM4E. It said SK hynix was expected to supply HBM4E samples in the second half of 2026, with mass production planned for 2027. Samsung has not given a date for its own mass production. It said it would begin mass production “aligned with customer schedules”.
The lead matters because SK hynix has been the larger supplier. Technology research firm Counterpoint Research estimated that SK hynix held 57% of the HBM market in the third quarter of 2025, Samsung 22% and US-based Micron 21%, according to semiconductor industry newsletter Semiecosystem on 24 December 2025. On that estimate, the two Korean firms accounted for 79% of HBM sales.
The lead matters because SK hynix has been the larger supplier. Technology research firm Counterpoint Research estimated that SK hynix held 57% of the HBM market in the third quarter of 2025, Samsung 22% and US-based Micron 21%, according to semiconductor industry newsletter Semiecosystem on 24 December 2025. On that estimate, the two Korean firms accounted for 79% of HBM sales.
A market with no spare supply
SK hynix had no unsold HBM for 2026 well before Samsung’s shipment. “Our DRAM, NAND, as well as HBM capacity for next year has been sold out,” Kim Kyu-hyun, SK hynix’s head of DRAM marketing, told the Financial Times in October 2025, as reported by US technology news site TechSpot.
Nvidia’s appetite was on display in June. On 2 June 2026, at the Computex trade show in Taipei, Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang wrote “Please Make More” on an HBM4E wafer at SK hynix’s booth, UPI reported. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won told reporters the group aims to double wafer production capacity within five years and said “The memory bottleneck is expected to continue until 2030.”
Nvidia’s appetite was on display in June. On 2 June 2026, at the Computex trade show in Taipei, Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang wrote “Please Make More” on an HBM4E wafer at SK hynix’s booth, UPI reported. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won told reporters the group aims to double wafer production capacity within five years and said “The memory bottleneck is expected to continue until 2030.”
Where the concentration risk sits
Samsung’s own labour dispute came close to disrupting output in May. A Samsung union had planned 18 days of strike action by nearly 48,000 members from 21 May 2026, Reuters reported in a story carried by Malaysian state news portal Media Selangor. Management and the union reached a tentative deal on 20 May, and members approved it on 27 May with 73.7% of votes cast, according to The Korea Herald, a Seoul-based English-language daily. The deal sets a bonus pool equal to 10.5% of semiconductor operating profit for workers in Samsung’s chip division. An earlier walkout, by the National Samsung Electronics Union in July 2024, involved roughly 6,000 workers, Fortune reported; VCA covered that dispute’s effect on chip supply chains in 2024.
Trade rules add a further constraint. US export controls announced on 2 December 2024 restrict sales of HBM to China, according to the Bureau of Industry and Security.
Trade rules add a further constraint. US export controls announced on 2 December 2024 restrict sales of HBM to China, according to the Bureau of Industry and Security.
What to watch after mid-June
VCA’s assessment, as at mid-June 2026, is that advanced HBM supply for the rest of 2026 rests on three companies, two of them in Korea, with the largest supplier’s capacity already allocated. Three dates will show whether Samsung’s lead holds: SK hynix’s first HBM4E samples, Samsung’s mass-production start and the next quarterly share estimates. Buyers who cannot get SK hynix volume in 2026 now have a sampled alternative from Samsung, but the sample shipment gives no volume commitment. For hyperscalers planning AI data centres for 2027, the binding question is how many HBM4E stacks either firm can ship once samples pass qualification.
Update, 27 September 2026: SK hynix said on 18 June 2026 that it had shipped 12-high HBM4E samples to major customers, according to the SK hynix Newsroom. The article describes the position as at 15 June 2026.
Correction, 27 September 2026: This article was revised. An earlier version said Samsung led SK hynix “by at least six months”; the sources said six months. It also said the samples were shipped to Nvidia, AMD and Google; the sources name those companies only as Samsung customers. It placed a Samsung strike in mid-2025; the strike was in July 2024, and a planned May 2026 strike was called off after a wage deal. Unsourced claims about market share, Chinese HBM production and Korean export controls were replaced with sourced figures or removed.
Update, 27 September 2026: SK hynix said on 18 June 2026 that it had shipped 12-high HBM4E samples to major customers, according to the SK hynix Newsroom. The article describes the position as at 15 June 2026.
Correction, 27 September 2026: This article was revised. An earlier version said Samsung led SK hynix “by at least six months”; the sources said six months. It also said the samples were shipped to Nvidia, AMD and Google; the sources name those companies only as Samsung customers. It placed a Samsung strike in mid-2025; the strike was in July 2024, and a planned May 2026 strike was called off after a wage deal. Unsourced claims about market share, Chinese HBM production and Korean export controls were replaced with sourced figures or removed.