Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have both secured production-ready technology for 16-layer stacks of sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory, known as HBM4, positioning the two South Korean memory makers for a pivotal contest in 2026 as demand from artificial intelligence accelerators expands. While each company has demonstrated technical readiness, industry participants say yield performance, rather than headline specifications, is likely to determine market share, profitability, and supplier standing in the next phase of the HBM cycle.

Record demand for artificial intelligence applications propelled Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to milestone financial results in 2025. On January 29, 2026, the two South Korean memory giants held rare, nearly simultaneous earnings calls to signal their respective positions in the race for the next generation of high-bandwidth memory.

Benefiting from specification upgrades in AI servers and switches, the content per box of NOR Flash is set to grow by multiples, with high-capacity specifications likely to face severe supply shortages. NOR Flash price increases in the second quarter of 2026 are expected to jump 40–50% quarter-on-quarter from the first quarter, with some product lines even seeing customers willing to pay premiums to secure supply. As for legacy-process products with tight supply, such as SLC NAND and MLC NAND, price hikes are even more aggressive. Second-quarter contract prices are rumored to see year-on-year increases of up to 400–500%, prompting Winbond Electronics to accelerate the expansion of its SLC NAND capacity.