Samsung has raised the production yield of its HBM4 memory chips to 80%, reaching what the industry considers a profitable and stable threshold, Seoul Economic Daily reported.
The report said Samsung began mass production and shipments of the sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory chips in February, when yield was below 60%.
Yield measures the share of chips that pass quality control tests without defects. A yield of 80% or higher is considered a “golden yield” because the manufacturing process becomes predictable, profitable and stable.
Samsung reached the 80% level within six months by using a turnkey system across its foundry, memory and packaging divisions. The improvement puts the company in closer competition with SK Hynix in both HBM development and production capacity.
Seoul Economic Daily said Samsung is targeting a 38% share of the HBM market by the end of this year. The report added that HBM4 chips are expected to generate more than 60% of Samsung’s HBM revenue in the second half of the year.
Analysts expect Samsung to slightly overtake SK Hynix in HBM volume market share in 2027.
Samsung is also working to improve the reliability of HBM4E production and is aiming for a 70% yield before the product launches in the first half of 2027.
HBM chips are used in AI accelerators made by AMD, Google and Nvidia. Samsung is one of three companies able to make modern HBM chips, alongside Micron and SK Hynix.
Samsung had faced problems with earlier HBM3 and HBM3E chips, which reportedly overheated and failed Nvidia quality tests. The article said Samsung improved its position with HBM4, reaching the highest performance levels in the industry.
Global HBM supply remains tight amid strong AI demand, and production capacity for all three suppliers in 2027 is already fully booked. The article said Samsung could earn at least $30 billion in profit from HBM chip sales in 2027 if it sustains current performance.
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