"NPU Also Needs HBM"…Attention on SK Hynix's Leading Technology Evolution

③Evolving AI Era Requires HBM Innovation
NPU Era Replacing GPUs Approaches
Hybrid Bonding, New Technological Challenge

On the 25th, the largest domestic semiconductor exhibition, 'Semiconductor Exhibition (SEDEX) 2023', was held at COEX in Seoul. This year, SK Hynix showcased its latest HBM product, HBM3E, at the exhibition booth. As proof of HBM's popularity, many visitors stopped by to check out the HBM3E. Numerous questions related to HBM products were also asked. Employees from competitor Samsung Electronics also visited the booth.

This year, HBM was the hottest keyword in the semiconductor industry. This trend is expected to continue next year as well. The semiconductor industry anticipates that the HBM market will grow rapidly in the future. After announcing its Q3 earnings on the 26th, SK Hynix projected during a conference call that the related market size will increase by an average annual rate of 60-80% over the next five years.

The long-term outlook is also positive. The semiconductor industry expects that neural processing units (NPUs), AI-dedicated semiconductors, will replace GPUs in the future. HBM will continue to be used at that time as well. Ki-Hyun Ahn, Executive Director of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, said, "Processors can only perform calculations, so NPUs also need to be equipped with high-performance memory," adding, "HBM will be essential."

The industry is paying attention to the upcoming market competition as SK Hynix gains an advantage in the HBM market. This is because Samsung Electronics, one of the top three DRAM companies, and the U.S. company Micron are also accelerating their HBM business efforts. However, SK Hynix, which has earned the trust of Nvidia, a major player in the HBM market, is expected to maintain its lead for the time being. An industry insider said, "Other companies will try, but it is highly likely that SK Hynix's number one position will continue."

Experts explained that faster changes will come as we enter the AI era. Jung-Ho Kim, a professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), said, "If AI levels are rated on a scale of 1 to 10, we are currently at about level 3." He added, "In the future, AI will not only speak but also have intuition," and "There will come a stage where AI understands everything humans say and comprehends the meaning."

The industry believes that HBM technology levels must also rapidly advance during this process. Recently, there has been discussion about producing HBM using the 'Hybrid Bonding' method, which eliminates empty spaces between stacked DRAM chips before bonding. Sang-Jun Hwang, Vice President of Samsung Electronics, said that they are "preparing hybrid bonding technology" to introduce the next-generation HBM4.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.