[News] Micron Reportedly Set to Mass Produce 12-Stack HBM3E, Securing NVIDIA Supply Deal

According to a report from ijiwei, citing Business Korea, Micron Technology is set to begin mass production of its 12-stack HBM and will supply it to AI semiconductor giant NVIDIA.

As highlighted by the report, Micron completed the development of its 12-stack HBM in September 2024 and has since showcased samples to NVIDIA and other potential customers.

The report, citing sources, states that, during a recent event, Micron’s Chief Financial Officer, Mark Murphy, claims that Micron’s 12-stack HBM offers 20% lower power consumption and 50% higher capacity compared to competitors’ 8-stack products. He further predicts that, as the report notes, the majority of HBM production in the second half of 2025 will consist of 12-stack products.

Furthermore, as highlighted in the report, Murphy states that Micron’s next-generation HBM4 is expected to enter mass production in 2026.

Samsung Falling Behind in HBM Race

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics appears to be lagging in HBM technology, as the report points out. Samsung has only recently begun small-scale production of 8-stack HBM and has yet to pass the testing phase for 12-stack HBM. As noted by the report, Samsung plans to send samples of its 12-stack HBM to NVIDIA by the end of the month, while final approval is still required before delivery.

In an effort to accelerate its transformation, Samsung is also aiming to begin mass production of HBM4 within the year. While earlier reports suggested Samsung was gearing up for 1c DRAM mass production, a report from ZDNet reveals that Samsung’s 1c DRAM has faced yield issues, with initial production in late 2024 not meeting expectations. The company has reportedly redesigning it since the second half of 2024, opting for larger chip sizes to boost yield over productivity and performance.

SK hynix Accelerates HBM4 Development

SK hynix, another memory giant, is also speeding up the development of HBM4 to meet NVIDIA’s growing demand. At CES 2025, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won confirmed that the company’s next-gen HBM development is now ahead of NVIDIA’s needs, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.

As per another ZDNet report, SK hynix aims to ship HBM4 samples to NVIDIA as early as June 2025, with full-scale product supply expected to begin around the end of the third quarter.

Read more

• [News] SK hynix at Full Throttle for HBM Expansion with Engineers Reportedly Set for M15X Fab in March
• [News] Next-Gen HBM? NVIDIA Reportedly Teams up with Samsung/ SK hynix to Push SOCAMM for 2025 Production

(Photo credit: Micron)