SK hynix Ships Samples of New 12-Layer HBM4E Chip for AI Applications

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, June 18 (Yonhap) -- SK hynix Inc. said Thursday it has begun shipping samples of its latest high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip, the 12-layer HBM4E, to major global customers, marking another step in the race to supply next-generation memory for artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

"The company was able to deliver samples of the 12-stack HBM4E on schedule thanks to its advanced HBM development and production expertise for HBM," SK hynix said in a press release. "We will work closely with partners for mass production in a timely manner."

The 12-layer HBM4E delivers improvements in both performance and power efficiency, according to the company. It offers more than 20 percent greater power efficiency than the previous memory model.

The enhancements are expected to improve data processing capabilities for AI training and inference workloads.

"SK hynix has laid the foundation to strengthen its AI leadership with HBM4E based on its market-leading technological capabilities and manufacturing expertise," Ahn Hyun, president and chief development officer, said in a statement. "Through close collaboration with our partners, we will deliver the value needed in the market while reinforcing our technology leadership as a full-stack AI memory creator."

SK hynix's customers include major AI companies, such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Nvidia Corp. and Google.

The announcement comes about a month after local rival Samsung Electronics Co. began shipping HBM4E samples, which the company described as the world's first shipment of the next-generation AI memory product.