SEOUL — The global race to supply the memory chips powering artificial intelligence is suddenly looking far more competitive.
Samsung Electronics captured 33% of global high-bandwidth memory revenue in the second quarter of 2026, surging from just 21% in the previous quarter and dramatically narrowing the lead of longtime HBM frontrunner SK hynix, according to new data from Counterpoint Research.
SK hynix remained firmly in first place with 50% of global HBM revenue, but its share slipped from 58% in the first quarter and 64% a year earlier. Micron Technology ranked third with approximately 18%, down from 21% in the first quarter.
The shift means the gap between Samsung and SK hynix collapsed from 37 percentage points in Q1 to just 17 percentage points in Q2.
For Samsung, which spent much of the early generative-AI boom trying to catch SK hynix in advanced HBM, that is more than a routine market-share gain. It is evidence that the competitive map of one of the semiconductor industry’s most lucrative markets may be changing.
Samsung’s HBM Comeback Is Accelerating
HBM stacks multiple layers of DRAM vertically to deliver enormous bandwidth while consuming less space and power than conventional memory architectures.
That has made HBM essential to high-performance AI accelerators, where processors must rapidly move huge amounts of data while training and running increasingly sophisticated artificial-intelligence models.
SK hynix established an early lead by becoming a major supplier of HBM3 and HBM3E products for Nvidia’s AI accelerators. That relationship helped turn the Korean memory manufacturer into one of the biggest beneficiaries of the worldwide AI infrastructure boom.
Samsung, however, is now closing ground.
Counterpoint’s figures show Samsung’s HBM revenue share more than doubled from 15% in Q2 2025 to 33% in Q2 2026. Meanwhile, SK hynix declined from 64% to 50% over the same period.
The next phase of that fight will increasingly revolve around HBM4, the sixth generation of high-bandwidth memory.
HBM4 Could Reset the Competitive Landscape
Most HBM industry revenue is still generated by HBM3E, Counterpoint said, but HBM4 shipments are expected to accelerate during the second half of 2026 as next-generation AI processors enter the market.
Samsung has been positioning itself aggressively for that transition.
In February, the company announced that it had begun mass production and commercial shipments of HBM4. Samsung said its product delivers a consistent transfer rate of 11.7 gigabits per second per pin, with the ability to reach as high as 13Gbps, while offering maximum bandwidth of approximately 3.3 terabytes per second per stack.
Samsung has also already shipped HBM4E samples to major customers, according to its second-quarter earnings disclosure. The company said demand for server DRAM, enterprise SSDs and HBM should continue accelerating as spending on AI infrastructure remains strong.
That technological transition matters because moving from HBM3E to HBM4 gives Samsung another opportunity to compete for business rather than simply trying to displace SK hynix inside an established product generation.
Counterpoint expects Samsung’s HBM share to increase further as its HBM4 shipments expand.
But SK Hynix Still Has a Powerful Advantage
Samsung’s momentum does not mean SK hynix has suddenly lost control of the market.
A 50% revenue share still gives SK hynix a substantial lead, while years of working closely with major AI accelerator customers have given the company deep experience in product qualification, manufacturing yields and large-scale HBM deployment.
More importantly, its relationship with Nvidia continues to deepen.
In July, Nvidia and SK Group unveiled an AI initiative worth more than $500 billion, including a long-term partnership with SK hynix to secure next-generation memory supplies and jointly develop HBM technologies for AI training, AI agents and physical AI applications.
The initiative also includes an SK Telecom data center planned around Nvidia’s Vera Rubin chips and SK hynix HBM4, with its first facility expected to begin operating in 2027.
That relationship represents the type of strategic advantage that cannot be measured by quarterly market share alone.
SK hynix has argued that its advantages in time-to-market, product performance, manufacturing yields, quality and customer relationships were accumulated over years and cannot easily be duplicated by competitors.
Micron Makes This a Three-Way Fight
The battle is not limited to Korea.
U.S.-based Micron remains the industry’s third major HBM supplier, holding about 18% of Q2 HBM revenue according to Counterpoint.
Micron is also expanding production aggressively as AI infrastructure spending drives demand for increasingly sophisticated memory products.
That means Nvidia and other AI-chip developers are increasingly dealing with three serious HBM suppliers instead of a market overwhelmingly dominated by one company.
Greater competition could eventually give major AI customers more negotiating leverage while increasing pressure on Samsung, SK hynix and Micron to improve performance, yields, production capacity and pricing.
Samsung Is Already Stronger in the Broader DRAM Market
One important distinction is that HBM market share and overall DRAM market share are not the same thing.
While SK hynix remains No. 1 in HBM, Counterpoint’s broader Q2 DRAM figures show Samsung leading the global DRAM market with roughly 38% of revenue, followed by SK hynix at 25% and Micron at 24%.
Samsung’s enormous conventional-memory manufacturing footprint could therefore become a significant advantage if it successfully converts more production capacity and customer relationships toward next-generation AI memory.
The financial payoff is already becoming visible.
Samsung reported record Q2 2026 consolidated revenue of 171.5 trillion won and operating profit of 89.5 trillion won. Its semiconductor Device Solutions division generated 127.5 trillion won of revenue and 89.2 trillion won of operating profit, with Samsung pointing to AI-related memory demand, higher prices and increased HBM4 sales as major contributors.
The Real Battle Begins With HBM4
Samsung’s jump from 21% to 33% in a single quarter is one of the clearest signs yet that SK hynix’s overwhelming early advantage in AI memory is being challenged.
But one quarter does not establish a new market leader.
SK hynix still controls half of global HBM revenue and retains strategically important relationships with Nvidia and other AI infrastructure customers. Samsung must demonstrate that its HBM4 momentum can translate into sustained large-volume shipments, stable manufacturing yields and long-term supply contracts.
And Micron is expanding at the same time.
That makes the second half of 2026 particularly important.
As Nvidia’s Vera Rubin generation and other advanced AI platforms scale, the industry will begin to reveal whether Samsung’s Q2 surge was simply a successful catch-up quarter — or the beginning of a much larger redistribution of the multibillion-dollar AI memory market.
For now, SK hynix still wears the crown.
But Samsung is suddenly much closer than it was just three months ago.
WWC ONE MEDIA M.J.E
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