HBM4, the sixth-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) from Samsung Electronics, is said to have surpassed $1 billion (about 1.54 trillion won) in revenue, the first in the industry.
As revenue from the world's first mass-produced and shipped HBM4 surges, some expect it could reach $10 billion (about 15.4 trillion won) by year-end.
On the 23rd, industry sources said Samsung Electronics achieved these results as demand for HBM4 recently spiked.
Samsung Electronics achieved this performance about four months after mass-producing and shipping HBM4 for the first time in the world on Feb. 12.
If the reference point is set at the end of June, revenue is expected to exceed $1.2 billion (about 1.85 trillion won).
With Samsung Electronics' HBM4 supply ramping up quickly right after launch, the company's market share in HBM is also seen expanding significantly.
In particular, there are expectations that by rapidly increasing supply through year-end, revenue in the first year of launch, 2026, will top $10 billion. The industry said this is an unusually large figure for the first year of mass production of a new memory product.
This performance is seen as stemming from a surge in demand driven by expanded investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
The industry estimates the HBM market this year will reach $54.6 billion (about 84 trillion won), up 58% from a year earlier.
The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) projected the global semiconductor market this year will reach $975 billion (about 1,500 trillion won).
A key pillar of this expanding demand is application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). ASICs are custom chips designed for specific computations or uses, and as global big tech companies adopt them in their own AI chips, they are rapidly driving up HBM demand.
Samsung Electronics is continuously receiving requests for HBM supply cooperation from major graphics processing unit (GPU) companies and ASIC-based hyperscaler clients.
Buoyed by this expanding customer base, HBM revenue this year is expected to more than triple from a year earlier.
Kim Dong-Won, a KB Securities researcher, said, "With a diversified customer base centered on ASIC companies such as Broadcom, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta, Samsung Electronics' HBM shipments next year will increase sharply."
Samsung Electronics applied a cutting-edge 4-nanometer process to the base die of HBM4 memory to secure a competitive edge in performance and mass-production stability, and in February mass-produced and shipped HBM4 for the first time in the world, moving to preempt the next-generation AI memory market.
Samsung Electronics' HBM4 delivers a data processing speed of 11.7 Gbps, about 46% faster than the industry standard, enabling the alleviation of data bottlenecks that worsen as AI models grow.
Data transfer capability is also about 2.7 times higher than the previous generation, securing performance that exceeds client requirements.
In addition, power efficiency is improved by about 40% over the previous generation, delivering both performance and lower operating costs.
Samsung Electronics plans to leverage its technological edge to lead the market not only with HBM4 but also with HBM4E.
Samsung Electronics is the world's only integrated device manufacturer (IDM) with logic, memory, foundry and packaging, possessing one-stop capabilities that provide everything from design to packaging.
The industry assesses that as HBM becomes more advanced, Samsung Electronics' differentiated capability to co-optimize its in-house foundry process and HBM design will serve as a powerful competitive advantage.
An industry official said, "Because HBM4 and next-generation HBM4E products will become mainstream through 2030, Samsung Electronics is expected to hold the initiative in future HBM competition."