SK hynix has achieved a significantly higher stock price growth this year after successfully pioneering the development of high-performance semiconductors in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector, thereby overshadowing its competitor, Samsung Electronics, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 23.
According to Bloomberg, SK hynix’s stock price soared by 67% after agreeing to supply premium high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to AI industry leader Nvidia. In contrast, Samsung Electronics, facing challenges in launching high-performance products, saw growth limited to 24%.
Global demand for memory semiconductors is currently weak. Notably, the smartphone market is experiencing its worst slump in a decade. However, the increasing demand for new products required to operate AI services, like ChatGPT, means the overall semiconductor industry remains robust. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has risen by 31% this year, outperforming most major indices.
While Samsung Electronics also operates in the foundry manufacturing sector and can explore growth opportunities there, Taiwan’s TSMC dominates this market, producing the majority of AI processors designed by firms like Nvidia. Consequently, Samsung must catch up in the optimized HBM product sector, which operates alongside AI accelerators.
SK hynix, which has focused on the memory sector, took an early leap into the latest semiconductor production, securing Nvidia as a client. Although Samsung has developed the new HBM3E chip and announced plans to release HBM4 by 2025, they face challenges in finalizing a contract with Nvidia.