The battle for dominance between Samsung Electronics and SK hynix over the artificial intelligence (AI) chip market is heating up in the new year. In the semiconductor "supercycle" triggered by the spread of AI, who secures the lead in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) has emerged as a key variable that will shape the market landscape.
In particular, as assessments grow that Samsung Electronics is gradually regaining competitiveness in the HBM market, a core component of AI chips, industry attention is focused on how firmly SK hynix, the frontrunner, can maintain its current leadership.
The player to watch this year is Samsung Electronics. Jun Young-hyun, vice chairman who leads the Samsung Electronics DS (semiconductors) institutional sector, directly mentioned HBM4 (sixth-generation HBM), a next-generation product, in the 2026 New Year's address, putting front and center the evaluations of external customers. It is seen as unusual for Samsung's semiconductor chief to single out a specific memory product line—especially a next-generation HBM.
Jun said, "We are hearing from customers for HBM4 that 'Samsung is back.'" After effectively acknowledging the shortcomings in the early response to HBM, the message is interpreted as publicly signaling confidence in normalizing the chip business and restoring technological competitiveness. In the industry, there is also the view that Samsung has made clear its intention to launch a counteroffensive for leadership starting with HBM4.
This remark aligns with industry chatter about performance evaluations of Samsung's HBM4. Samsung's HBM4 is said to have received performance marks exceeding expectations during quality testing by key customers Nvidia and Broadcom. This is in line with prior reports that Samsung's HBM4 has made meaningful progress in product competitiveness.
Samsung Electronics, in the early phase of AI proliferation, struggled with Production yield and heat issues in HBM3E (fifth-generation HBM), ceding HBM market leadership to SK hynix. It subsequently retooled its strategy around process stability and product completeness, and there are recent indications that HBM-related orders are gradually improving. In the industry, there are coexisting assessments that, with HBM4, Samsung has significantly narrowed the technological competitiveness gap or has begun to pull ahead in some areas.
By contrast, SK hynix's 2026 New Year's address strikes a more stable and conservative tone. President Kwak Noh-jung stopped short of naming a specific HBM generation, instead emphasizing that AI demand has become a constant rather than a temporary boon, calling for rapid development, preemptive technology acquisition, and revenue-focused management. As the company already leading the HBM market, the message appears to stress maintaining and expanding its current competitive edge.
SK hynix is seen as the biggest beneficiary in the AI memory market with HBM at the forefront. While its HBM market share is estimated at more than half, it also did not relinquish first place in the DRAM market through the third quarter last year. The expanded HBM mix has translated into results and market position, analysts say. This confidence is cited as the backdrop for Kwak's repeated references to an "ultra-first-class corporations" and a "true partner" in the New Year's address.
Industry watchers view the contrast in New Year's messages as a strategic choice stemming from the companies' different positions. As the frontrunner, SK hynix inevitably chose to emphasize stability, speed, and profitability at once, while the pursuer, Samsung Electronics, is highlighting HBM4 as a next-generation technology to shift momentum and reclaim leadership.
A semiconductor industry official said, "The HBM race is not just about performance superiority but about how quickly you can regain or maintain customer trust," adding, "In the current setup, SK hynix is defending and Samsung is counterattacking, and that strategy came through clearly in the New Year's messages."
That said, many believe the HBM contest will not unfold as a winner-takes-all battle in the short term. With the spread of AI chips rapidly increasing overall memory demand, Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Micron are all seen as sharing opportunities to grow sales. Even so, because HBM is the key memory that determines the performance and power efficiency of AI accelerators, the strategic difference in tone revealed in the New Year's addresses is widely viewed as likely to serve as an important inflection point for future orders and technology road maps.