SK Hynix now more valuable than Samsung - Techzine Global

SK Hynix has overtaken Samsung to become South Korea's most valuable publicly traded company, driven by the global AI boom and strong demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM). The semiconductor manufact... Read original →

SK Hynix surpassing Samsung in market cap signals a structural shift in semiconductors—from logic-centric to memory-compute co-optimization driven by AI. Its >60% HBM dominance locks in NVIDIA and Google, while the $8B ASML EUV order intensifies lithography bottlenecks, raising industry-wide capex barriers. U.S. export controls on advanced packaging could disrupt SK’s supply chain if extended to EUV maintenance or components, spiking compliance costs. Samsung will likely accelerate HBM4 and partner with Taiwan, China foundries for CoWoS alternatives; Micron may leverage U.S. 'trusted supply chain' narratives to win government contracts. Within 18 months, HBM will become a geopolitical flashpoint, with pre-sold capacity evolving into a de facto chip futures market—redrawing global memory pricing power.