Samsung Electronics is set to commence the world's first large-scale production and shipment of HBM4 following the Lunar New Year holiday. This next-generation high-bandwidth memory, designed for AI chips, boasts industry-leading performance. The move signals Samsung's attempt to establish dominance in the new AI memory market and recover ground lost with its previous generation product.
According to industry sources, Samsung has scheduled mass production and shipment of HBM4 for NVIDIA for the third week of this month, immediately after the holiday period. This represents the first global mass production of the new HBM4 standard.
Samsung reportedly passed NVIDIA's quality tests ahead of schedule and secured purchase orders. The production timeline was finalized after considering NVIDIA's launch schedule for its Vera Rubin AI accelerators. NVIDIA plans to showcase Vera Rubin products featuring Samsung's HBM4 for the first time at the NVIDIA GTC 2026 conference next month.
This development has direct implications for the AI chip supply chain and is expected to reshape the competitive landscape of the high-end memory market.
Samsung's HBM4 demonstrates significant performance advantages over industry standards. From the outset of development, Samsung targeted performance exceeding JEDEC (Solid State Technology Association) specifications by employing both 1c DRAM and 4-nanometer foundry processes.
This process combination enables Samsung's HBM4 to achieve a data processing speed of 11.7 Gbps, approximately 37% faster than the JEDEC standard of 8 Gbps and 22% faster than the previous generation HBM3E's 9.6 Gbps. Single-stack memory bandwidth reaches 3 TB/s, 2.4 times that of the previous generation. Using 12-layer stacking technology provides 36 GB capacity, with potential for expansion to 48 GB if 16-layer stacking is implemented in the future.
The product features low-power design alongside enhanced computing performance, potentially helping data centers reduce electricity consumption and cooling costs.
Market conditions favor Samsung's expansion. The company anticipates HBM sales will more than triple this year compared to last and has decided to install new production lines at its Pyeongtaek Campus fourth factory to increase capacity.
As the only global company with integrated capabilities in logic chips, memory, foundry services, and packaging, Samsung plans to maximize its competitive advantage by leveraging synergies between advanced memory and foundry processes, positioning itself as a comprehensive one-stop solution provider.
An industry source stated, "Samsung Electronics possesses the world's largest production capacity and most extensive product lineup, demonstrating its technological competitiveness through pioneering mass production of the highest-performing HBM4." The source added, "This positions the company most favorably to lead the market."
The confirmed mass production schedule gives Samsung an advantage over competitors like SK Hynix. As a critical component for next-generation AI accelerators, HBM4 supply capacity will directly impact product launch timelines and performance for chip manufacturers such as NVIDIA.
Samsung has reportedly significantly increased the quantity of HBM4 samples in its latest purchase orders for customer finished module testing, indicating strengthening of its position within key customers' supply chains. This development provides valuable insight for investors assessing Samsung's competitiveness in the high-end memory market.
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