Samsung Electronics launches next-gen AI memory technology as sales top $1 billion

Samsung Electronics has crossed the $1 billion sales mark for its next-generation AI memory chips, a milestone that took roughly four months from the start of mass production. The company’s high-bandwidth memory (HBM) 4 chips, which began shipping on February 12, 2026, claim performance improvements exceeding 40% over previous standards. The HBM4 rollout and the AMD deal Mass production kicked off in February, and by March 18, the company had locked down a memorandum of understanding with AMD to supply HBM4 chips for the Instinct MI455X GPU and EPYC processors. The partnership targets bandwidths of up to 3.3TB/s, achieved through a 10nm-class manufacturing process. Samsung and NVIDIA held discussions at the GTC 2026 event focused on HBM4E integration and future HBM5 architecture. HBM4E: the 12-layer monster By May 2026, Samsung began shipping samples of its 12-layer HBM4E, which the company describes as an industry first. The chips reach speeds of up to 16Gbps per pin, a specification designed to maximize power efficiency for AI workloads. What this means for the AI hardware supply chain The $1 billion sales figure, reached by June 23, 2026, tells a clear story about demand. Samsun...