SK hynix begins producing world’s first 12-layer HBM chip

The company announced Thursday that it plans to start deliveries of the advanced chip, the first 12-layer version of the advanced memory it sells to California-based AI giant Nvidia, later this year.

The news comes just after six months after the chipmaker began supplying the 8-layer version to customers, including Nvidia, in March, leaving rivals Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology racing to close the gap.

HBM3E has a maximum capacity of 36GB per chip over the 24GB cap of HBM3 as well as data transmission rates of 9.6 gigabits per second — meaning, the company said, that a GPU using four 36GB HBM3E chips would be capable of reading 70 billion parameters 35 times per second.

The stacks employ the company’s mass reflow molded underfill packaging technology, which reduces heat dissipation by a claimed “up to 10 percent,” reducing the thickness of HBM stacks. As a result, SK hynix says, it has been able to create 12-high HBM stacks the same height as its 8-high ones, with each stacked dynamic random access memory module 40 thinner those of prior generations.

“SK hynix has once again broken through technological limits demonstrating our industry leadership in AI memory,” Justin Kim, SK hynix’s president and head of AI Infra, said in a statement. “We will continue our position as the No.1 global AI memory provider as we steadily prepare next-generation memory products to overcome the challenges of the AI era.”

SK hynix shares soared 9.44 percent to close at 180,900 won ($136) on Thursday following the news.

Shares of neighborhood chipmaker Samsung Electronics also jumped 4.02 percent to 64,700 won following an earnings surprise from Micron for fiscal fourth quarter of 2024 and higher-than-expected forecast for the upcoming quarter.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]