Samsung Electronics said on Friday it has begun delivering sample units of its latest high-bandwidth memory (HBM) product to customers, marking an advance in the distribution of a memory technology that is central to artificial intelligence data-center hardware.
The new device, described by Samsung as a 12-layer HBM4E, is claimed to be more than 20% faster than the company's previous HBM4 generation. Samsung stated the chip is built using its most recent 1c DRAM process technology - identified as sixth-generation, 10-nanometer-class DRAM - and pairs that DRAM stack with Samsung's 4-nanometer foundry logic base die.
Samsung framed the sampling as part of an effort to rebuild momentum in the advanced HBM market. The company has trailed competitors such as SK Hynix and Micron in supplying state-of-the-art memory chips for AI workloads, particularly to major AI customers like Nvidia, and the new sampling campaign is intended to strengthen Samsung's position in next-generation AI memory supply.
This latest shipment comes three months after Samsung began shipping its HBM4 chips to customers in February. In April, the company had said it planned to ship its first HBM4E samples in the second quarter; the Friday announcement confirms that sampling process is underway.
Samsung's customer list includes prominent cloud and AI firms such as AMD, Nvidia and Google, reflecting demand pressure from companies building AI servers and processors that rely on high-bandwidth memory. Industry commentators and market participants noted investor interest in Samsung's HBM update, which was followed by a noticeable move in Samsung's stock price.
In morning trading, shares of Samsung Electronics rose as much as 6.5%, outpacing the benchmark KOSPI's 2.3% gain. Shares of SK Hynix were trading up 1.2% at 0207 GMT. Quoted intraday movements for Micron showed a small decline of 0.53%, while references to TSMC indicated a modest rise of 0.5% in the same reporting window.
Analysts linked the share response to both the HBM4E announcement and broader optimism about Samsung's AI chip prospects. The company was named by Anthropic as a strategic infrastructure partner in that AI firm's recent funding round; Anthropic said it had raised financing at a post-money valuation of $965 billion and listed Samsung, Micron and SK Hynix as partners whose technologies are key to supplying memory, storage and logic chips. In Anthropic's commentary Samsung was singled out among the three for its logic chip capabilities, a mention that market participants interpreted as potentially beneficial for Samsung's foundry ambitions.
Samsung's logic and foundry prospects have also been highlighted in the context of other recent supply deals. The company last year announced a $16.5 billion supply agreement with Tesla, an arrangement referenced by analysts as part of expectations that Samsung could capture more advanced-node manufacturing work if demand exceeds capacity elsewhere.
Jeff Kim, head of research at KB Securities-Jefferies, noted the importance of early mover dynamics in the HBM market: vendors that move first tend to win the bulk of initial orders, making early-stage share gains critical. Kim observed Samsung entered the HBM3 and HBM3E markets later than some competitors, which limited the volumes it secured. He added that if Samsung completes the qualification process for HBM4E successfully, the competitive structure that has largely centered on SK Hynix and Micron could shift to a new balance between SK Hynix and Samsung, given Samsung's manufacturing capacity.
Market-share data cited in industry research show SK Hynix leading the global HBM market with a 57% share in the fourth quarter of 2025, followed by Samsung at 22% and Micron at 21%, according to Counterpoint Research.
Kim also pointed out that Taiwan's TSMC is expected to have advanced-node capacity fully booked for the next several years, a dynamic that could raise expectations for Samsung as one of the few companies capable of producing advanced chips to win additional orders for advanced-node manufacturing.
For now, Samsung's sampling of HBM4E and the stock market reaction underscore the firm's push to regain share in the AI memory segment and the potential linkage between memory product developments and broader foundry expectations among investors.