Choi Joon-yong, Head of HBM Business Planning at SK Hynix, recently stated that the market for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) specifically for AI will continue to grow at a 30% annual rate through 2030. This forecast is based on "very strong and resolute" end-user demand for AI, particularly from cloud computing giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet. These companies have already planned billions of dollars in AI capital expenditures, and further increases are likely in the future, directly driving demand for HBM purchases.
Since its introduction in 2013, HBM technology has become a key enabler for processing complex AI tasks by vertically stacking chips to achieve space savings and power optimization. SK Hynix predicts that the customized HBM market will reach tens of billions of dollars by 2030. This market expansion is accompanied by a shift in technological strategy: SK Hynix and its competitors, Samsung and Micron, are advancing the development of next-generation HBM4. Its core feature is the integration of custom logic chips to optimize memory management. This move will enhance product differentiation and make it difficult to simply replace competing products.
Choi pointed out that customized demand will become a new growth engine: "Every customer has different preferences, some requiring specific performance or power consumption characteristics." Currently, large customers like Nvidia have already received customized solutions, while small and medium-sized enterprises still use generic products. As a major supplier to Nvidia, SK Hynix remains optimistic about the outlook, but Samsung recently warned that its current flagship product, HBM3E, may face short-term pricing pressures due to oversupply.
SK Hynix emphasized that its 30% annual growth forecast takes into account practical factors such as energy constraints and is a conservative estimate. As the strong correlation between AI development and HBM procurement continues to deepen, technology customization and geopolitics will become key variables influencing the market landscape.
Thanks to strong demand for HBM required for generative AI chips, SK Hynix achieved record revenue of 22.232 trillion won (approximately US$16.27 billion) and operating profit of 9.213 trillion won (approximately US$6.74 billion) in the second quarter of 2025, both reaching record highs.
SK Hynix noted that robust demand for high-end memory, coupled with favorable pricing conditions, drove its overall performance in the first half of this year. Looking ahead, SK Hynix is optimistic about the market outlook in the second half of the year and believes that the possibility of a sharp decline in demand is low. The main reason is that customers' inventory levels are healthy and new products are about to be launched, which is expected to further drive market demand.
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