Samsung Electronics Co. pledged to strengthen its position in the high-bandwidth memory chip market in the current year.
The mentioned statement is a kind of response from the South Korean technology giant to criticism from investors of the relatively low performance in the lucrative artificial intelligence arena.
Jun Young-hyun, head of Samsung’s chip business, stated that the company plans to supply enhanced 12-layer HBM3E as early as the second quarter of the current year. It was also noted that in the second half of 2025, the technology giant intends to produce cutting-edge HBM4 chips. Jun Young-hyun was officially appointed as co-chief executive officer of the company following its annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, March 19. He acknowledged that the technology giant failed to secure leadership in the HBM market at an early stage. It is worth noting that this was the reason Samsung lagged behind its competitor SK Hynix Inc. Jun Young-hyun stated that the technology giant will not repeat the same mistake with the next-generation HBM4 and custom chips. HBM4 memory is expected to be integrated into Nvidia’s upcoming Rubin graphics processing unit architecture.
At the same time, SK Hynix is actively positioning itself as the primary HBM4 supplier for Nvidia. The company said it has shipped the world’s first 12-layer HBM4 samples to major customers ahead of schedule.
Samsung has decided to revise the design of HBM3E chips. This action is aimed at obtaining approval from Nvidia. Samsung aims to close the gap with SK Hynix, Nvidia’s go-to partner.
It is worth noting that this year at the CES conference in Las Vegas, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang said that Samsung will have to develop a new design. According to him, the technology giant from South Korea can do this. In a related context, Jensen Huang noted that Samsung is committed to doing this and is working very fast.
Jun Young-hyun also predicts the recovery of the memory market in the coming quarters. It was separately noted that the relevant process will be driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence and mobile devices. According to Jun Young-hyun, the mentioned factor will contribute to an increase in Samsung’s earnings in the second half of the current year.
HBM is essential for high-performance computing tasks and provides memory manufacturers with a lucrative way to participate in the flood of spending on artificial intelligence training and development. Unlike other types of memory, the complexity of HBM production has made it highly profitable and less susceptible to wide swings in the balance of supply and demand.
Samsung also said on Wednesday that it considers major deals as a way to boost growth. Last year, the company’s shares performed among the worst in the technology area. In recent quarters, Samsung has literally suffered from weak earnings and the negative dynamic of securities. Han Jong-hee, co-chief executive officer of the company, told investors that over the past year, the firm has failed to adequately respond to the rapidly developing artificial intelligence semiconductor market. He also noted that Samsung, which introduced a stock-based performance system to executives last year, is considering expanding the scheme to employees next year. This intention is related to the company’s efforts to review its stock prices.
Last year, Samsung’s stock value dropped by almost a third, hitting a four-year low in November. At the same time, SK Hynix’s securities rose in price by 26%.
In November, Samsung launched a share buyback plan worth $7.2 billion. Since then, the value of the company’s shares has grown by 7%.
Han Jong-hee told investors that 2025 will be a difficult year due to the uncertainty surrounding policies in major economies. He also noted that Samsung will pursue meaningful mergers and acquisitions to drive growth. According to him, when implementing such deals in the semiconductor area, there are some difficulties related to regulatory issues and various national interests, but the company is determined to achieve tangible results in this space.
It is worth noting that in recent years Samsung has lost market share to TSMC in the contract manufacturing of chips. The company also lost ground to Apple and Chinese brands in the smartphone market.
It is worth noting that restrictions from the United States on the export of high-end chips to China are a source of difficulties for Samsung. The mentioned Asian country has become Samsung’s most important market due to microcircuit stockpiling by Chinese firms.
Han Jong-hee stated that the company will flexibly respond to the tariffs of the administration of the President of the United States Donald Trump with its global supply chain and manufacturing footprints. It was also noted that Samsung will consider investment options in the US.
Despite the difficulties, Samsung continues to be the most valuable company in South Korea. The market capitalization of the firm is $235 billion. This indicator accounts for 16% of the total value of the South Korean main bourse. Almost 40% of investors in South Korean stocks own Samsung securities.
As we have reported earlier, Samsung Ramps Up Investments in AI.
