SK Hynix Targets Samsung’s HBM and Foundry Talent

SK Hynix, one of the world’s leading memory suppliers, had planned to expand production of sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory, or HBM4, to meet demand for AI chips. But tightening supply and demand for conventional DRAM and improving margins have prompted the company to reallocate capacity. The move could strengthen profitability, while giving Samsung Electronics an opportunity to narrow SK Hynix’s lead in HBM market share.

As of July 20, 2026, market sources said SK Hynix would delay its HBM4 mass-production and production-line conversion schedules to prioritize shortages of conventional DRAM. The company has not disclosed the length of the delay, the amount of capacity to be shifted or the investment involved. Following the reports, Taiwanese memory stocks Nanya Technology and Winbond Electronics extended their declines in early trading.

SK Hynix is a leading global memory-chip maker and a leader in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a key component in AI servers. As generative AI fuels demand for advanced memory, chip design and R&D talent have become central to competition. The company is therefore shifting its hiring criteria from academic credentials to practical skills and growth potential, seeking to broaden its talent pool and maintain its edge in AI semiconductors.

SK Hynix announced on June 17, 2026, that it was eliminating the four-year university degree requirement from the rolling recruitment program launched that day. High school graduates can now apply for technical positions in design, devices and R&D. The company is hiring in the hundreds across key roles, including several hundred chip design positions. The first round of applications closed on June 23.

The rapid expansion of AI data centers has driven demand for high-bandwidth memory, benefiting leading supplier SK Hynix. Growth in its HBM business has lifted revenue and profit, reshaping South Korea's semiconductor industry and challenging Samsung Electronics' long-held status as the top choice for job seekers.

SK Hynix's revenue surpassed Samsung Electronics' for the first time in 2025. Strong profits also allowed it to award employees bonuses equivalent to 2,964% of their monthly salaries, with some reports estimating payouts of about NT$30 million per person. The latest employment survey showed that SK Hynix had overtaken Samsung to become the company where South Korean job seekers most want to work.

High-bandwidth memory (HBM) delivers large volumes of data to AI accelerators with high bandwidth and low power consumption, making it a critical component in the race for generative AI computing power. After a downturn in the memory market, SK hynix rebounded through technology investment and its supply partnership with Nvidia, becoming a key company in the global AI semiconductor supply chain.

South Korean broadcaster KBS was granted access to SK hynix’s M16 wafer fabrication plant for the first time. Its program “The World Seen for the First Time” showed the company’s secret HBM production line operating around the clock, along with employees at work. The report did not specify an air date, investment amount or production capacity, but footage from the facility showed the company working at full speed to meet demand for AI memory.

SK hynix is a leading global supplier of high-bandwidth memory, or HBM. Its operating profit could double as the expansion of generative AI model training drives memory demand. HBM has become a critical component in the AI server supply chain, and the company’s earnings directly affect whether semiconductor employees share in the industry’s gains.

As of July 20, 2026, SK hynix shares had surpassed 1.2 million won to reach a record high. After the company adopted a bonus system tied to operating profit, analysts estimated that employees’ average annual profit-sharing bonus could reach 700 million won, or about NT$15 million. Related reports put the amount at between NT$13 million and NT$15 million.