HBM4 Race Heats Up: Samsung Targets 13Gbps HBM4e, Reportedly Revamping Strategy
2025-10-15
The HBM4 race is heating up. Shortly after Micron showcased its HBM4 progress, shipping customer samples with over 2.8?TB/s bandwidth and pin speeds above 11?Gbps, Samsung unveiled impressive HBM4e details at the 2025 OCP Global Summit. According to SeDaily and TweaksTown, Samsung’s HBM4e, slated for 2027, targets per-pin speeds exceeding 13?Gbps, delivering a maximum throughput of 3.25?TB/s—about 2.5 times faster than current HBM3e.
The reports add Samsung also highlighted a more than twofold improvement in power efficiency, with HBM4e expected to consume less than half the 3.9? picojoules per bit of HBM3e.
The latest development, as per SeDaily, was prompted by a mid-year request from NVIDIA, which sought higher bandwidth for its next-generation AI accelerator, Vera Rubin. While under the JEDEC HBM4 standard, bandwidth is set at 8?Gbps per pin (2?TB/s), NVIDIA reportedly pushed Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron to exceed 10?Gbps per pin.
Notably, ZDNet reported in late September that Micron has shipped customer samples delivering over 2.8 TB/s of bandwidth and pin speeds above 11 Gbps, dispelling earlier rumors that its chips were limited to 8 Gbps—trailing behind Samsung and SK hynix, which are targeting speeds above 10 Gbps through their foundry partners. Samsung’s latest move, meanwhile, pushes the competition further into the HBM4e era.
Samsung Rumored to Shift HBM4 Strategy to Mass Production Focus
Meanwhile, Samsung is reportedly making a bold strategic shift. According to the Chosun Daily, the company is considering dissolving its 1c DRAM yield-improvement task force to fast-track HBM4 mass production this year.
The move, as per the report, underscores Samsung’s push to join NVIDIA’s supply chain and gain early market share — even as its 1c DRAM for HBM4 reportedly failed to surpass a 50% yield in recent cold tests.
The Chosun Daily notes that Samsung had initially aimed to complete the internal production authorization (PRA) for its 1c DRAM for HBM4 by Q3. However, sources cited by the report indicate the company has bypassed this step and is now moving straight toward setting up mass production for HBM4.
According to TrendForce, among the three leading suppliers, Samsung took an aggressive step in 2024 by upgrading the HBM4 base die process node to FinFET 4nm, targeting volume production by the end of the year.
Transmission speeds are projected to reach 10 Gbps, and its production share of products enabling 10Gbps is expected to surpass those of SK hynix and Micron, TrendForce observes.
PS
Shrink n Stack on torrid pace.
:-)
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