According to a report from Nikkei citing sources, memory giant Micron Technology is building a pilot production line for advanced high-bandwidth memory (HBM) in the United States and is considering producing HBM in Malaysia for the first time to capture more demand from the AI boom.

Reported on June 19, Micron is said to be expanding its HBM-related R&D facilities at its headquarters in Boise, Idaho, which include production and verification lines. Additionally, Micron is considering establishing HBM production capacity in Malaysia, where it already operates chip testing and assembly plants.

Nikkei’s report further noted that Micron’s largest HBM production facility is located in Taichung, Taiwan, where expansion efforts are also underway. Micron is said to have set a goal to triple its HBM market share to 24-26% by the end of 2025, which would bring it close to its traditional DRAM market share of approximately 23-25%.

Earlier this month, a report from a Japanese media outlet The Daily Industrial News also indicated that Micron planned to build a new DRAM plant in Hiroshima, with construction scheduled to begin in early 2026 and aiming for completion of plant buildings and first tool-in by the end of 2027.

Per industry sources cited by TechNews, Micron is expected to invest between JPY 600 to 800 billion in the new facility, located adjacent to the existing Fab15 facility. Initially, the new plant will focus on DRAM production, excluding backend packaging and testing, with a capacity emphasis on HBM products.

Micron, along with SK Hynix, has reportedly received certification from NVIDIA to produce HBM3e for the AI chip “H200.” Samsung Electronics has not yet received approval from NVIDIA; its less advanced HBM3 and HBM2e are currently primarily supplied to AMD, Google, and Amazon.

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(Photo credit: Micron)

As tech heavyweights eagerly pursue more market share in the AI sector, the battle for talents in the semiconductor industry has also heated up. According to the latest report by The Chosun Daily, citing LinkedIn data as of June 18, NVIDIA has become the hottest tech talent hub, not only drawing talents from semiconductor giants, but recruiting from memory companies in full swing.

According to the report, NVIDIA employs 89 former TSMC employees, while only 12 former NVIDIA employees have joined TSMC. Moreover, comparing with the number of former NVIDIA employees now at Samsung (278), there are 515 NVIDIA employees coming from Samsung Electronics, which indicates a significant talent migration to the GPU giant.

Regarding the talent war between NVIDIA and Intel, the former has attracted as many as 2,848 employees from Intel, whereas only 544 former NVIDIA employees have joined Intel.

NVIDIA also attracts talents with its charisma in AI from other memory giants. The LinkedIn data cited by the report shows that there are 38 NVIDIA employees previously with SK hynix, with none moving in the opposite direction. In addition, NVIDIA has attracted 159 employees from Micron, whereas only 38 former NVIDIA employees have joined Micron.

Interestingly enough, though Samsung lags behind in the competition with TSMC regarding the advanced nodes, it seems to be attractive to talents from the world’s largest foundry. Data show that there are 195 TSMC employees transitioning to Samsung, while only 24 former employees have joined TSMC.

An industry insider cited by the report observed that Korean semiconductor companies are vigorously recruiting for high-performance memory positions, such as those involving HBM. Moreover, a growing number of master’s and doctoral-level semiconductor experts in South Korea are joining the industry, showing a trend where talent moves from academia to local companies and then to international firms.

(Photo credit: NVIDIA)

South Korean patent management company Mimir IP, which acquired approximately 1,500 chip-related patents from SK hynix in May, has filed a complaint against Micron, accusing the US memory giant of infringing on its chip-related patents, the Korea Economic Daily reported. Sources suggested that if Mimir wins the case, the damages could amount to as much as USD 480 million.

The Korea Economic Daily learned that the lawsuit, filed on June 3, also targets four other companies that use Micron products: Tesla, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, while the patents involved are reportedly related to circuits, voltage measurement devices, and non-volatile memory devices.

The case has been filed with both the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and the US International Trade Commission (ITC), which marks the first instance of a Korea-based non-practicing entity (NPE) that acquired patents from domestic chipmakers filing a suit against a US semiconductor company.

Officials from the involved parties were unavailable for comment, the report said.

SK hynix, the current market leader in HBM, has been facing heated competition from Samsung and Micron, both of which have recently developed their HBM3e chips, trying to win favor from the world’s leading AI chip designer, NVIDIA. Now it seems that the battleground for industry dominance is expanding from technology competition to patent disputes.

It is worth noting that transferring patents to non-practicing entity (NPE) has become more and more popular, as it seems to be a preliminary measure for companies to prepare for legal disputes with its competitors, the report noted.

The Big Three in the memory industry have made similar moves on their patent strategy recently. According to the report, Micron transferred over 400 chip-related patents to Lodestar Licensing Group in March, 2023, followed by Samsung, which transferred 96 US chip patent rights, including the right to file patent infringement complaints, to IKT, an affiliate of Samsung Display, in June 2023.

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(Photo credit: SK hynix)

Taiwanese panel company Innolux have said to be involving in collaborating with leading global memory manufacturers. According to a report from the Economic Daily News, plans are underway to repurpose its 4th Plant in Tainan (5.5-generation LCD panel plant) for AI-related semiconductor applications, specifically targeting back-end packaging.

Sources cited in the report indicate that, based on the strategies of the top three global memory manufacturers, the partner in this collaboration is likely a memory manufacturer that already has a presence in Taiwan and seeks to expand its capacity there. Innolux’s advantage lies in its advanced panel-level fan-out packaging (FOPLP), which is poised to make a substantial impact in the AI field. However, these reports have not been confirmed by Innolux or any global memory giants.

Regarding the 4th Plant developments at Tainan, Innolux stated on June 16 that, based on flexible strategic planning principles, the company continues to optimize production configurations and enhance overall operational efficiency. Some production lines and products are being adjusted to streamline and strengthen the group’s layout and development.

The surge in AI demand has driven the need for advanced chip heterogenous integration and high-end packaging technologies to meet the high-performance application requirements of AI devices. Targeting these opportunities, Innolux has reportedly repurposed its Tainan 3.5-generation and 4-generation LCD panel production lines for semiconductor-related uses, including FOPLP and X-ray sensors.

Sources cited in the report also revealed that Innolux’s transformation efforts are making progress. After closing the 5.5-generation LCD panel production at the 4th Plant last year, the company has gradually reassigned staff to other facilities. To revitalize capacity and assets, Innolux has been in close contact with leading global memory manufacturers, aiming to develop AI-related applications.

Currently, the three major global memory manufacturers are actively developing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI servers. South Korea’s SK Hynix is the most proactive in collaborating with Taiwanese companies. SK Hynix has partnered with TSMC to aggressively target the AI market. As per a report from Korean media outlet The Korea Herald,  SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won recently visited TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei to ensure continued close cooperation on the next-generation HBM.

On the other hand, Micron has established memory production in Taiwan but does not yet have HBM capacity for AI servers in the region. Meanwhile, Samsung does not have direct AI cooperation with Taiwanese companies in the memory sector.

Sources cited in the report from Economic Daily News indicate that Innolux is engaging with one of these three major international memory manufacturers, focusing on new semiconductor applications. As Innolux is advancing into the promising glass substrate packaging business through panel-level fan-out packaging, this technology is expected to be combined with memory applications for AI development. Therefore, the developments at its 4th Plant in Tainan are receiving considerable attention.

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(Photo credit: Innolux)

Earlier, a report from a Japanese media outlet The Daily Industrial News indicated that memory giant Micron planned to build a new DRAM plant in Hiroshima, with construction scheduled to begin in early 2026 and aiming for completion of plant buildings and first tool-in by the end of 2027.

According to industry sources cited by TechNews, Micron is expected to invest between JPY 600 to 800 billion in the new facility, located adjacent to the existing Fab15 facility. Initially, the new plant will focus on DRAM production, excluding backend packaging and testing, with a capacity emphasis on HBM products.

Micron’s new Hiroshima plant will be the first to adopt Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment, producing new advanced 1-Gamma process DRAM developed in collaboration between Taiwan and Japan. Subsequently, it will also transition to the 1-Delta process, leading to a significant increase in EUV tool-ins and heightened cleanroom facilities.

As for Fab 15 in Hiroshima, it serves as a mass production site for HBM, handling front-end wafer production and Through-Silicon Via (TSV) processes, while back-end stacking and testing processes are managed by the Taichung back-end plant in Taiwan. Market reports cited by TechNews also suggest that due to expanding demand for HBM, Micron’s facilities in Taiwan will commence HBM production and TSV processes starting next year.

TrendForce points out that due to robust growth in the HBM market, lower production yields, larger chip sizes, and other factors, producing the same bit output in HBM requires approximately three times the wafer input compared to DDR5, potentially squeezing traditional DRAM capacity.

Given Micron’s need to accelerate its penetration into the HBM market, and with its 2025 production capacity already fully booked by customers, the construction of a new plant becomes imperative. Micron also plans to maintain its HBM product line market share at 20% to 25% by 2025, eyeing on increasing it to match traditional DRAM levels.

The new Hiroshima plant has also received subsidies from the Japanese government. In October last year, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced subsidies totaling JPY 192 billion for Micron’s construction and equipment expenses. Additionally, subsidies of up to JPY 8.87 billion for production costs and JPY 25 billion for research and development costs were provided.

Read more

• [News] Micron Reportedly Set to Build New DRAM Plant in Hiroshima, Japan, Operational Expected by End of 2027
• [News] Micron Slightly Raises Capital Expenditure for 2024, HBM Expected to Further Drive Revenue Growth in 2025

(Photo credit: Micron)