SK Hynix surpasses Samsung to become South Korea's most valuable company as AI memory demand reshapes the semiconductor hierarchy - Startup Fortune

On June 22, 2026, SK Hynix surpassed Samsung Electronics to become South Korea's most valuable listed company, driven by the surge in demand for AI memory. This shift underscores how the AI boom is re... Read original →

SK Hynix overtaking Samsung marks not a market fluke but the structural realignment of AI infrastructure economics. Technically, HBM3E and HBM4 are forcing upstream upgrades in advanced packaging, silicon interposers, and CoWoS capacity—bolstering TSMC’s and Taiwan-based OSATs’ bargaining power. On compliance, U.S. export controls now classify HBM as strategic; while SK Hynix retains temporary exemptions, its Xi’an fab expansion faces heightened geopolitical scrutiny, inflating supply chain redundancy costs. Samsung, reacting to its HBM lag, may accelerate 3nm GAA DRAM R&D and lobby with Micron for relaxed equipment bans—but yield delays won’t restore lost customer trust. Within 18 months, HBM will shift from a performance differentiator to a mandatory gateway for AI accelerators, granting HBM4 leaders de facto control over memory-GPU co-design standards, while laggards risk exclusion from premium ecosystems.