SK hynix has narrowed its gap to within 5 percentage points of global number one in the DRAM market Samsung Electronics, buoyed by the surge in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and its strong performance in high bandwidth memory (HBM) and other premium memory semiconductor products. The industry anticipates a head-to-head battle in the high-value DRAM product market between the two companies.
According to market research firm Omida on Nov. 26, SK hynix’s DRAM sales in the third quarter of this year were US$4.63 billion, up 34.59% compared to the previous quarter. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics’ DRAM sales in the same period were US$5.2 billion, an increase of 17%.
SK hynix’s DRAM market share in the first quarter was 24.7%, trailing behind U.S.-based Micron (27.2%) and slipping to third place. However, it recovered to second place in the second quarter with 31% and further increased to 35% in the third quarter, marking its highest ever. During the same period, Samsung Electronics’ market share slightly declined from 42.8% to 39.4% in the third quarter. The gap between the two companies’ market shares has narrowed to 4.4 percentage points, the lowest level ever.
The total sales of the global DRAM market in the third quarter increased by 19.2% from the previous quarter to US$13.24 billion. The market hit a low of US$9.37 billion in the first quarter of this year but has been on a rising trend for two consecutive quarters. Omida forecasts that “next year’s global DRAM market total sales will grow by nearly 30% compared to this year.”
SK hynix is challenging “memory powerhouse” Samsung in the premium memory product line, including the rapidly emerging HBM and LPDDR segments. SK hynix has been the first in the world to successfully develop 5th generation HBM3E, the highest specification currently available, and is taking the initiative in developing next-generation HBM4 standards with global clients.
Especially, SK hynix was recently the first in the industry to release Low Power DDR5 Turbo (LPDDR5T), a next-generation mobile DRAM design, and is in supply discussions with major clients such as Qualcomm, shaking Samsung in various high-value DRAM markets. Powered by this performance, SK hynix succeeded in turning to profit in its DRAM business division in the third quarter, earlier than Samsung Electronics.
Samsung Electronics, on the other hand, is strategizing to maintain its market position in response to the changing memory semiconductor market paradigm. Samsung Electronics recently previewed the release of new memory products, including the automotive LPDDR5X, at an investment forum held in Hong Kong. The product has been modified to meet the automotive industry’s demand for maximum power efficiency in limited space by reducing the size of existing LPDDR5X.
Samsung is also set to mass produce special DRAM products like Low Latency Wide that enhance bandwidth and improve power efficiency by more than 70% compared to general DRAM from next year. As the only semiconductor company in the world that owns both the memory business and foundry, Samsung is planning to provide advanced packaging services to clients as well.