The South Korean chipmaker said on Thursday that the new chips are already being delivered, though it did not name customers. 

This comes as demand for high-bandwidth memory steeply increases, driven by the global build-out of data centres used to train and run advanced artificial intelligence systems.

HBM is a form of dynamic random-access memory designed to handle very large volumes of data at high speed. It has become an essential component in modern AI processors. 

Samsung, the world’s largest memory chipmaker by revenue, has struggled in recent years to keep pace with competitors in earlier generations of the technology.

The company said its HBM4 chips provide a consistent processing speed of 11.7 gigabits per second, about 22% faster than the previous HBM3E version. It added that the chips can reach a maximum speed of 13 gigabits per second, easing data bottlenecks as workloads grow heavier.

Samsung also said it plans to provide samples of its next version, HBM4E, in the second half of the year.

Sources say Samsung began mass production and shipments of HBM4 chips in February 2026, with Nvidia graphics processors among the key targets.

Those chips are expected to power Nvidia’s upcoming Vera Rubin AI accelerator platform, due for launch in the second half of the year.

The HBM4 chips are built on a 4-nanometre logic process and offer capacities between 24 and 36 gigabytes, with plans to scale up to 48 gigabytes. 

Samsung says the new generation delivers up to 3 terabytes per second of bandwidth per stack, roughly 2.4 times that of HBM3E, alongside a 40% improvement in power efficiency and better thermal control.

Competition in the market is getting tighter. SK Hynix said in January that it aims to maintain its “overwhelming” market share in next-generation HBM4 chips, which it said were already in volume production. 

The company added that it plans to achieve production yields for HBM4 in line with those of HBM3E.

Micron has also moved early. The company’s chief financial officer said it is in high-volume production of HBM4 and has begun shipping the chips to customers.

Samsung’s new focus underlines a catch-up initiative after falling behind in earlier HBM cycles. Investors welcomed the update. Samsung shares ended the day up 6.4%.

Memory bandwidth has become just as important as processing power in modern data centres, and demand is not falling behind. Companies are expanding AI capacity worldwide.

This is an important step for Samsung as it tries to close the gap with SK Hynix, its long-time competition and the top supplier of advanced memory used in Nvidia’s accelerators. 

Delays in Samsung’s earlier HBM programmes weighed heavily on its earnings and share price last year. This time, the company is moving faster and with more at stake.

The initial production run is tied to months of qualification testing with Nvidia and AMD. Samsung cleared those tests late last year, opening the door to commercial shipments in early 2026. The company has not disclosed volumes, and it is unclear how quickly supply will scale.

Samsung declined to comment on the development. Nvidia did not respond to requests for comment.

Following the development, Samsung shares rose more than 2% in early trading, while SK Hynix shares slipped by nearly 3%. Investors are reading this as a sign that competition in the HBM market is about to increase.

HBM4 is the sixth generation of high-bandwidth memory, designed to handle the heavy data loads of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. 

Compared with HBM3E, it gives higher bandwidth while using less power. That combination is important as chipmakers push systems harder to train and run ever-larger models.

For Nvidia, memory supply is now a strategic issue, not just a technical one. The company’s next platform, Vera Rubin, is already in production and will rely on HBM4 to achieve its performance targets. 

As Nvidia’s chief executive Jensen Huang said earlier this month, the platform is in “full production,” ahead of a launch later this year.

Until now, SK Hynix has carried most of that burden. It supplies the bulk of the HBM used in Nvidia’s current accelerators and has already locked in supply talks with major customers for next year. 

The company is also expanding capacity, with plans to start deploying wafers into its new M15X factory in Cheongju early next month. It has not said whether HBM4 will be part of that first output.

Micron is also pushing into the space, adding pressure to an already tight market. Demand for high-bandwidth memory is surging as data centres scale up, and analysts expect the market to grow sharply over the next few years.

Samsung’s entry into HBM4 production changes the balance. It gives Nvidia and AMD another qualified supplier, reduces the risk of shortages, and may help cool pricing pressures. It is a chance for Samsung to regain ground in a segment it cannot afford to miss.

Both Samsung and SK Hynix are due to report quarterly earnings later this week. Investors will be listening for any detail on HBM4 orders, production timelines and customer commitments.

The company is expected to report a fourth-quarter operating profit of about 16.9 trillion won for the October–December period, according to analyst estimates compiled by LSEG. 

That figure would represent a jump of roughly 160% from a year earlier and place Samsung within touching distance of its 2018 peak, when the memory market last experienced a major price cycle.

What has changed is not just demand, but the structure of it. With manufacturers focusing capacity towards advanced chips for data centres, output of conventional memory has tightened. Prices have responded with unusual force. 

TrendForce data shows DDR5 DRAM prices climbed 314% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, while contract prices for standard DRAM are forecast to rise another 55% to 60% in the first quarter of this year.

That dynamic plays directly into Samsung’s hands. The company is heavily exposed to conventional DRAM, a segment that many rivals had begun to treat as mature. 

“As conventional DRAM prices continue to surge, Samsung – whose production capacity is largely concentrated in this segment – stands to gain relatively more from the current price upcycle,” TrendForce analyst Avril Wu said.

This quarter goes beyond a one-off rebound. Just over a year ago, Samsung’s leadership was apologising publicly for weak performance as it fell behind SK Hynix in supplying high-bandwidth memory to Nvidia. 

Today, the tone is different. On Friday, executive chairman Jun Young-hyun told investors that customers had described Samsung’s next-generation HBM4 chips by saying, “Samsung is back.”

The competitive backdrop explains why that is important. SK Hynix completed what it described as world-first HBM4 development in September 2025, doubling bandwidth and cutting power use by 40%. 

By the end of last year, it had already sold out its entire 2026 supply to Nvidia. Micron, meanwhile, has told investors that tight memory conditions could last beyond 2026, with chief executive Sanjay Mehrotra warning that the company expects to meet only half to two-thirds of demand from several major customers.

At CES 2026, chipmaker Nvidia unveiled its Vera Rubin platform, confirming that the next generation of its systems will rely on HBM4 memory. Nvidia said the Vera Rubin architecture is in full production and on track for launch later this year, underlining how critical reliable HBM supply has become.

Samsung’s expected profit surge shows this bigger change. Some analysts have already lifted their fourth-quarter forecasts above 20 trillion won, betting that price momentum in traditional memory has been underestimated. 

Looking further ahead, market forecasts reveal Samsung’s operating profit could exceed 100 trillion won this year, more than double last year’s level, if pricing remains firm.

Investors have largely embraced the turnaround. Samsung shares rose 125% last year, their strongest annual gain in 26 years, although they dipped 2.1% in early Tuesday trading as the wider market paused after a rally.

Risks have not disappeared. Lee Min-hee of BNK Investment & Securities cautioned that higher chip prices could cool demand for consumer devices and flagged “risks of a demand slowdown” as data centres rely more on debt to fund expansion. 

Samsung itself has acknowledged the limitations on its mobile business, where rising component costs are squeezing margins. “As this situation is unprecedented, no company is immune to its impact,” co-chief executive TM Roh said, adding that the fallout looks “inevitable”.

Even so, a memory market once dismissed as cyclical has become essential to the next phase of global computing.