Samsung Takes the Lead with Industry-First HBM4E AI Memory Chips
Samsung Electronics made a groundbreaking announcement on Thursday, May 28, 2026. The tech giant has begun shipping samples of its innovative 12-layer HBM4E high-bandwidth memory chips to major global customers, marking the first-ever delivery of this next-generation AI memory technology. This move positions Samsung with a significant six-month advantage over rivals SK Hynix and Micron in the competitive race to supply critical components for advanced AI systems.
The new HBM4E chips boast remarkable performance enhancements. They maintain stable speeds of 14 gigabits per second and offer scalability up to 16 Gbps. This represents a speed increase of over 20% compared to Samsung’s previous HBM4 generation. The memory bandwidth can reach up to 3.6 terabytes per second per stack, and the capacity has leaped to 48 gigabytes, a surge of over 30% from the previous generation. Samsung also plans to roll out additional 32GB and 64GB variants based on customer needs.
These chips are built on Samsung’s latest 1c DRAM process technology and 4-nanometer foundry logic base die. They feature optimized packaging that enhances energy efficiency by 16% and thermal resistance by over 14%. These advanced memory chips are crucial for AI accelerators from leading companies like NVIDIA, AMD, and Google. Following the announcement, Samsung shares skyrocketed by as much as 6.51%, reflecting investor confidence in the company’s fortified position in the rapidly expanding AI memory market.
Source: CNBC