SK海力士拥有业界领先的第五代HBM3E芯片，也是得到英伟达最先认证的主要HBM供应商。目前，SK海力士正向英伟达独家供应HBM，2024年3月率先供应第五代8层HBM3E产品，同年10月全球首次量产12层堆叠的HBM3E内存。① SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won stated that the development speed of SK Hynix's HBM chips has exceeded NVIDIA's requirements, which means that negotiations with NVIDIA have more leverage; ② Choi Tae-won also mentioned that SK Hynix and NVIDIA are accelerating the R&D of HBM, and the supply quantity for this year has been finalized; ③ Furthermore, SK Group plans to make the AI Datacenter a primary growth driver in the future.
According to Caixin on January 8 (Editor: Zhou Ziyi), SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won stated on Wednesday (January 8) that the development speed of SK Hynix's High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips has exceeded the supply speed required by NVIDIA. Chairman Choi's remarks imply that SK Hynix has gained additional leverage in negotiations with NVIDIA.
HBM is an advanced high-performance memory chip and is a key component of NVIDIA's graphics processing units (GPUs). NVIDIA's GPUs can drive the most advanced generative AI systems currently available.
SK Hynix possesses the industry's leading fifth-generation HBM3E chip and is also the first major HBM supplier to be certified by NVIDIA. Currently, SK Hynix is exclusively supplying HBM to NVIDIA and plans to first supply the fifth-generation 8-layer HBM3E products in March 2024, with a global first mass production of the 12-layer stacked HBM3E memory in October of the same year.
On Wednesday, Choi Tae-won stated during a meeting with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang at the 2025 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, that SK Hynix's HBM R&D speed was slightly slower than NVIDIA's requirements. The other party (NVIDIA) had requested SK Hynix to speed up, but recently SK Hynix's R&D speed has begun to surpass, and both companies are accelerating the R&D of HBM.
Choi Tae-won added, "Currently our development speed is slightly higher than NVIDIA's expected speed. While this situation may change, our current development speed is comparable to NVIDIA's."
Choi Tae-won stated, "We (with Jensen Huang) discussed and confirmed the HBM timeline established at the working level, and the supply quantity for this year has been determined, but I do not remember the specific figures."
Earlier, this South Korean chip giant announced that the HBM planned to be produced in 2025 has already been sold out, with NVIDIA being its largest customer.
In addition to HBM, Choi Taewon emphasized that the SK Group will position the AI Datacenter as a key driver for future growth. This is part of a broader Global Strategy to transform the group into a high-tech AI Technology company.
He pointed out that the Energy solutions for the AI Datacenter are crucial, particularly regarding Electrical Utilities supply, Energy efficiency, and cooling, which are key Energy issues. Such transformation will not only promote the diversification of SK's Business but will also boost the development of AI Technology.
According to this Global Strategy, the SK Group also showcased AI Datacenter solutions and cutting-edge AI Technology at CES 2025. These strategic layouts are expected to demonstrate more investment value and market potential in the future.
