[Exclusive] SK hynix Becomes First Korean Semiconductor Firm to Win IEEE Innovation Award... 'Leading the AI Revolution with Jensen Huang'

by Paek Jongmin

Published 23 Apr.2026 21:08(KST)

Updated 24 Apr.2026 07:30(KST)

SK Hynix will receive the Corporate Innovation Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in recognition of its development of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), a core memory technology for the AI era.

SK Hynix to Receive IEEE Corporate Innovation Award. IEEE Official Website

According to industry sources on the 23rd, IEEE plans to honor SK Hynix at the "IEEE Awards" ceremony to be held in New York on the 24th (local time). IEEE explained that SK Hynix was selected for leading the innovation and deployment of HBM, which has enabled AI computing.

HBM is a key technology that addresses the data bottleneck, also known as the "memory wall," that arises during large-scale AI computation. IEEE evaluated that "SK Hynix has commercialized this technology and expanded its adoption to global AI systems, making a tangible contribution to the advancement of AI infrastructure."

The IEEE Corporate Innovation Award has been previously awarded to top global tech companies such as Intel (2016), Apple (2020), TSMC (2021), and AMD (2025). While Samsung Electronics received the award in 2010 for its Mobile WiMAX technology, this marks the first time a Korean company has been recognized for its semiconductor and AI infrastructure technology itself. Not even NVIDIA has previously received this award.

At this year's ceremony, Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, will receive the highest honor, the "Medal of Honor." Although the news of Huang's selection was announced during CES, the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition, last January, the award will be presented at this event.

Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, is speaking at the announcement ceremony of the IEEE Medal of Honor winners held in Las Vegas, USA, last January. Photo by Paek Jongmin, Tech Specialist

The IEEE Medal of Honor, established in 1917, is the most prestigious award of the IEEE. It is granted only to individuals whose contributions have had a significant impact on humanity in the fields of engineering and science.

CEO Huang was recognized for ushering in the era of generative AI through GPU-based computing architecture.

The industry sees significant meaning in the fact that these two awardees each represent a core pillar of the AI industry: NVIDIA has paved the way for AI computation with GPUs, and SK Hynix has expanded that path into a superhighway with HBM.

Kim Joungho, a professor at KAIST who led HBM development, commented on the award, saying, "As the era of AI agents dawns and the capacity required for KV cache in computations increases, SK Hynix’s HBM memory technology becomes even more important."

IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization, with over 500,000 members worldwide. The organization operates technical standards, academic activities, and award programs with the goal of "advancing technology for humanity."