Samsung Leverages Vertical Integration to Leapfrog Competitors in HBM4E and HBM5

Samsung Leverages Vertical Integration to Leapfrog Competitors in HBM4E and HBM5

Samsung Electronics is executing an aggressive technology roadmap to regain momentum in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, where SK Hynix has historically held the dominant market share. By leveraging its unique position as the only memory maker with in-house foundry and advanced packaging capabilities, Samsung is achieving significant milestones in next-generation HBM4 and HBM4E.¹

1. Samsung's HBM4 Sales Surpass $1 Billion

Samsung has reached a major commercial milestone: its HBM4 has surpassed $1 billion in revenue (projected to exceed $1.2 billion through the end of June 2026), making it the first product in the industry to reach this level just four months after entering mass production in February 2026.

• Samsung's HBM4 utilizes its own 4nm FinFET process node for the base die, allowing it to bypass external foundries and speed up qualification timelines.
• Due to this rapid ramp and qualification, TrendForce revised Samsung's full-year HBM4 shipment volume upward from 3.5 billion Gb to 4 billion Gb.

2. Leading the HBM4E Sampling Race to Nvidia

Samsung completed the world’s first shipment of HBM4E samples in late May 2026, supplying them to Nvidia:

• Samsung's HBM4E combines a 1c DRAM core die with its in-house 4nm foundry-based base die.
• It achieves speeds of 14Gbps to 16Gbps per pin, equivalent to a maximum bandwidth of 4TB/s.
• In response, SK Hynix is stepping up its HBM4E sampling timeline to June-July 2026 (originally slated for 2H26) to supply Nvidia for its upcoming Rubin Ultra platform (which demands a massive 384GB of HBM capacity per GPU). SK Hynix is expected to use TSMC's 3nm process for its HBM4E logic base die to counter Samsung's 4nm vertical integration.

3. Divergence in HBM4 Strategy: SK Hynix Slows Ramp

In a major strategic shift, SK Hynix is taking a more measured approach to HBM capacity expansion. While Samsung is aggressively ramping HBM4, SK Hynix is slowing its HBM4 production ramp-up:

• SK Hynix is dialing back the conversion of selected HBM3E production lines that were earmarked for HBM4 upgrades.
• Instead, SK Hynix is shifting its focus toward the tightening commodity DRAM segment, where operating margins are projected to approach a theoretical peak of 90% within the year (detailed in HBM vs DDR5 Profitability Arbitrage Grants Suppliers Leverage for 2027 HBM4 Negotiations).
• Consequently, TrendForce pushed back SK Hynix's meaningful HBM4 mass production volume to Q3 2026 and revised its full-year HBM4 shipment outlook down from 4.5 billion Gb to 4 billion Gb, bringing it on par with Samsung.

4. Restarting the 1d DRAM (D1d) Roadmap for HBM5E

Samsung has also rescheduled its advanced DRAM manufacturing plans. After indefinitely postponing its 10nm-class 7th-generation DRAM (1d DRAM or D1d) due to yield and cost challenges, Samsung has re-engaged with equipment partners²:

• Samsung aims to introduce 1d DRAM manufacturing equipment into its facilities as early as Q2 2027.
• Mass production of 1d DRAM is now targeted for the second half of calendar 2027 (late 2027).
• These 1d DRAM chips are slated to become a core part of Samsung's next-generation HBM5E AI memory, which was showcased along with a physical mockup of HBM5 featuring "Heat Path Block" (HPB) thermal cooling technology at Computex 2026.

This combination of vertical integration, leading-edge sampling, and a rebooted 1d DRAM roadmap has allowed Samsung to effectively erase SK Hynix's early lead and position itself as a co-equal giant in the next-generation HBM4/HBM4E era.