SK Hynix Joins Forces With TSMC, Can It Dominate Customized AI Memory Market?

TradingKey - SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, on Wednesday during COMPUTEX Taipei, met with TSMC ( TSM) Chairman C.C. Wei. The two parties reached a consensus on next-generation AI technology trends and agreed to expand cooperation in High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and advanced packaging. According to information on SK Hynix's official website, the two companies will integrate SK Hynix's HBM technology with TSMC's advanced packaging processes.

SK Hynix and TSMC Simultaneously Expand Capacity

Even before announcing their partnership, both companies had already been aggressively expanding production capacity. In April, SK Hynix launched an investment of 19 trillion won (approx. $12.85 billion) in its P&T7 advanced packaging plant in Cheongju, South Korea, focusing on the packaging and testing of HBM and next-generation AI memory chips.

As for TSMC, its CoWoS packaging capacity is projected to reach over 125,000 wafers per month by the end of 2026, representing an increase of about 79% from 2025, but orders from Nvidia ( NVDA ), Broadcom ( AVGO ), AMD ( AMD) and other clients continue to keep capacity tight.

From a market perspective, the HBM supply-demand gap remains significant. According to SEMI forecasts, the HBM market size will grow 58% to $54.6 billion in 2026, accounting for nearly 40% of the DRAM market. Although Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron ( MU) have already diverted 70% of their new capacity to HBM, the overall shortfall remains as high as 50% to 60%.

SK Hynix Unveils HBM4E, TSMC to Provide Integrated Packaging

The strategic focus of the cooperation between the two parties is shifting toward customized AI memory to address the rapid expansion of AI computing power demand. TSMC previously stated that next-generation HBM will directly integrate memory controllers into the base die, thereby saving logic area for the main chip and improving power efficiency.

SK Hynix stated that through its collaboration with TSMC, the company will consolidate its leadership in the customized AI memory sector. At this year's Computex, SK Hynix showcased HBM4E 48GB 12Hi samples, featuring a single-stack bandwidth of 4.0 TB/s—a 38% increase over the previous generation—and a 33% increase in single-die capacity.

Chey Tae-won also revealed that SK Group needs to establish broader partnerships in Taiwan, not limited to TSMC. SK Hynix also aims to become a major HBM supplier for NVIDIA's next-generation Vera Rubin system.

This collaboration is a key step in SK Hynix's blueprint for continuously increasing its AI investments. Nomura Securities expects that SK Hynix's annual revenue growth rate will be approximately 30% over the next three to five years.

For TSMC, extending its advantages in logic chip foundry and advanced packaging to the memory supply chain is an important step in building a complete AI computing ecosystem. Currently, global memory output value has exceeded wafer foundry for the first time, becoming the semiconductor industry's primary growth driver. Synergy with SK Hynix in the direction of customized memory will help TSMC consolidate its system-level solution capabilities for major customers such as NVIDIA.

SK Hynix-TSMC Collaboration Drives Packaging Equipment Demand

Boosted by news of the partnership, market focus on the HBM supply chain and related advanced packaging equipment has intensified further. Previous collaboration among SK Group, TSMC, and Innolux in the field of Panel-Level Packaging (PLP) has already driven significant gains in related concept stocks such as glass substrates. This move to deepen the synergistic layout of HBM and packaging is expected to generate a sustained ripple effect across sub-sectors, including HBM materials, packaging equipment, and testing services.