SK Hynix surpassed Samsung for the first time and became the world s largest memory manufacturer

SK Hynix surpassed Samsung Electronics for the first time in the first quarter of 2025, becoming the world's largest memory manufacturer, thanks to the demand for artificial intelligence (AI). Samsung announced its financial report on July 31, with memory revenues (including DRAM and NAND) falling to 21.2 trillion KRW (about $15.2 billion) in the three months ending June, and SK Hynix's revenue in the first quarter a week ago was 21.8 trillion KRW (about $9.72 billion), indicating that the gap between the two is growing.

This milestone represents the first change in the DRAM market leadership position since 1992. The strong position of SK Hynix's high-frequency wide memory (HBM) market is a key to success and is important for AI and high-performance computing. SK Hynix's market share exceeds 70%, and is an important supplier to major AI chip manufacturers such as Nvidia.

Demand for advanced memory solutions surged, and SK Hynix HBM3 and HBM3E's aggressive investment and innovation have caused it to break out. This year, SK Hynix's DRAM revenue reached US$49.6 billion, exceeding Samsung's US$46.4 billion. HBM's share of SK Hynix's revenue combination increased, increasing from 3% in 2019 to 42% in 2025. The transformation of leadership status highlights how innovation and strategic cooperation in AI memory reshapes the global semiconductor memory market.

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