Memory Giants Diverge on HBM Base Die: Micron Reportedly Delays Foundry Shift, Risks Losing Edge
2025-08-29
With NVIDIA reportedly developing its own HBM base die for 2027 production, the spotlight is on memory giants moving base die manufacturing from DRAM to foundry processes. According to South Korea’s Digital Daily, Micron may take the most cautious approach, delaying the shift to foundries until HBM4e due to cost concerns.
The report explains that up to HBM3e, the base die was manufactured using DRAM processes, as DRAM makers designed the logic themselves and produced it on their own DRAM lines. However, planar DRAM processes lag behind foundry FinFET technology in speed, signal integrity, and power efficiency, prompting memory makers to switch, as noted by Digital Daily.
Thus, Digital Daily notes that Samsung and SK hynix are moving base die production to foundry processes starting with HBM4 to tackle heat, signal delay, and power efficiency in high-performance computing. Micron, by contrast, plans to continue producing base dies with DRAM processes through HBM4, shifting to TSMC foundries only with HBM4e, the report adds.
While the move may reflect Micron’s focus on near-term efficiency and cost savings, Digital Daily cautions that the company risks falling behind as a shift to foundry processes becomes inevitable.
Analysts cited by the report note that Samsung and SK hynix are pushing ahead with foundry adoption because performance demands from key GPU customers such as NVIDIA and AMD have already outgrown traditional DRAM processes. Micron’s stance could ultimately weaken its position in competing for performance-driven clients like NVIDIA, as the report points out.
Foundry Shift Puts Pressure on Base Die Production Costs
On the other hand, Business Post highlights concerns over rising costs as SK hynix and Micron will have to rely on TSMC’s premium foundry services for base die production. The high cost of advanced nodes could push their HBM prices above Samsung’s, which stands to gain a potential cost advantage from in-house production capabilities.
According to Business Post, citing industry sources, logic dies produced by TSMC could account for as much as 20% of SK hynix’s total HBM4 production costs.
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