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SK hynix said its entire 2024 supply of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) was sold out, according to AFP reporting on May 3, 2024. That was a historical statement about the company’s HBM supply—not a claim that all memory was sold out or that the whole market remains short today. The squeeze reflected surging demand for AI-server memory and the greater production capacity HBM requires compared with conventional DRAM.
What HBM is and why AI systems use it
High-bandwidth memory, or HBM, is a type of DRAM made by vertically connecting multiple memory dies. SK hynix describes this arrangement as enabling much higher data-processing speed than conventional DRAM, making HBM a key component in high-performance AI computing hardware. SK hynix’s April 2024 announcement explains the vertical interconnection approach.
AI servers need to move large amounts of data quickly between processors and memory. As demand for those systems grew, demand for the specialized memory used in them rose too. SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung told AFP that increased use of AI devices “will lead to an explosive increase in demand for high-speed, high-capacity and low-power memory chips specialized for AI.” AFP’s May 3, 2024 report, reproduced by Tech Xplore, attributed the statement to Kwak.
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Why HBM demand can tighten memory supply
The supply pressure is partly a production-allocation issue. In its April 2024 results release, SK hynix said HBM production requires more capacity than conventional DRAM production. If a manufacturer directs more of its production resources toward HBM, it may have less capacity available for conventional DRAM, potentially tightening that category’s supply relatively. That does not mean HBM and conventional DRAM are interchangeable, or that every type of DRAM was out of stock. SK hynix’s Q1 2024 results release describes the capacity trade-off.
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The company’s results show how quickly HBM grew in importance to its business. In Q3 2024, SK hynix reported HBM sales rose more than 70% quarter-on-quarter and more than 330% year-on-year. HBM represented 30% of its DRAM revenue that quarter; management forecast that the share would reach 40% in Q4. The Q3 2024 release also cited strong demand for AI-server memory, especially from data-center customers.
In January 2025, SK hynix reported that HBM had exceeded 40% of its total DRAM revenue in Q4 2024. These percentages are shares of revenue, not shares of DRAM bits produced or units shipped. The company also reported FY2024 revenue of 66.1930 trillion won and operating profit of 23.4673 trillion won, with HBM and eSSD sales contributing to the results. Its FY2024 results release said it planned to expand HBM3E supply and develop HBM4.
What “sold out for 2024” meant
AFP reported on May 3, 2024 that SK hynix said its full 2024 HBM supply was sold out, and that much of its 2025 line had already been allocated. The precise sellout wording is attributed to SK hynix through AFP’s contemporaneous report, rather than a located first-party transcript. It describes the company’s allocation at that time; it does not establish a global shortage measurement, the duration of any market-wide shortage, or SK hynix’s present supply position.
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In April 2024, SK hynix announced an estimated $3.87 billion investment in an advanced packaging and R&D facility in West Lafayette, Indiana, focused on next-generation HBM. The company said the project would involve collaboration with Purdue University and targeted mass production in the second half of 2028. Those dates and details were plans announced in 2024, not confirmation of the project’s current construction status or schedule. The company’s announcement contains the original plan.
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- Form Factor: 260PIN SODIMM
- Total Capacity: 8GB
- Warranty: Limited Lifetime
- Specs: PC4-21300, Unbuffered, NON-ECC, 1.2V
- Data Transfer Rate: 2666MHz
What the 2024 shortage story does—and does not—show
- It shows: AI-server demand drove strong growth in HBM sales, while producing HBM required more capacity than producing conventional DRAM, creating a potential trade-off in how production resources were allocated.
- It does not show: that all memory types were sold out, that conventional DRAM and HBM had identical supply conditions, or how long a global HBM shortage lasted.
- It is not a current allocation update: the sellout statement concerned SK hynix’s 2024 HBM supply as reported in May 2024. The available company results through FY2024 confirm HBM’s growing business importance but do not establish 2026 supply, prices, capacity, market share, or the Indiana facility’s progress.
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