Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a leading South Korean technology conglomerate, is making notable advancements in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) memory solutions. Recent statements from Samsung’s co-CEO and head of its semiconductor division, Jun Young-hyun, reveal strong customer approval of the company’s next-generation High Bandwidth Memory 4 (HBM4) products. This development offers positive signals amid the fierce technology race surrounding AI memory components, with Samsung striving to fortify its position as AI hardware demand escalates worldwide.
Jun Young-hyun highlighted in a New Year address that the reception from customers towards Samsung’s upcoming HBM4 lineup has been overwhelmingly encouraging. Customers express confidence in the product's performance capabilities, which align with the company's strategic focus on AI-optimized memory technologies. This positive feedback represents a significant vote of confidence in Samsung’s roadmap and demonstrates the company’s resolve to advance competitively within this domain.
Samsung is actively engaged in supply discussions with Nvidia Corporation, a prominent entity in AI chip development, aiming to furnish HBM4 chips to support Nvidia’s growing hardware requirements. This negotiation underscores Samsung’s ambition to narrow the existing market presence gap dominated by SK Hynix, the market leader in the AI memory chip sector.
The demand for high-bandwidth memory solutions is intensifying due to the surging requirements of AI and generative AI workloads, which necessitate memory components with enhanced speed and power efficiency. High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) is central to the operation of large language models and AI accelerators utilized by industry leaders such as Nvidia, Google, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Samsung already maintains supply relationships with major AI chip designers, including Google via Broadcom and AMD, which uses Samsung GPUs under a broad partnership framework.
Despite Samsung's progress, SK Hynix maintains a dominant position, holding approximately 53% of the global HBM market in the third quarter of 2025, with Samsung trailing at 35%, and Micron Technology accounting for 11%, as reported by Counterpoint Research. This market distribution highlights the competitive environment Samsung contends with as it intensifies efforts to increase its footprint in the AI memory segment.
Beyond memory solutions, Samsung is also projecting substantial growth in its foundry business segment. Jun Young-hyun referenced new supply contracts with major international clients, most notably a significant $16.5 billion supply deal with Tesla Inc., marking a strategic expansion of Samsung’s foundry operations.
However, Samsung's leadership cautions that the global economic landscape in 2026 may introduce headwinds. Co-CEO TM Roh warned of potential challenges, including escalating component costs, uncertainties related to international tariffs, and other macroeconomic risks. In response, Samsung plans to implement supply chain diversification to mitigate these risks and sustain operational resilience.
Similarly, SK Hynix’s CEO Kwak Noh-Jung articulated a prudent outlook for the sector, emphasizing the necessity for sustained aggressive investments amidst the ongoing competitive dynamics and market uncertainties.