Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are actively participating in the 'Stargate' project, a U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure development initiative valued at USD 500 billion (approximately KRW 702 trillion). This has raised expectations for the potential high growth of the Korean semiconductor industry. Particularly, as OpenAI is actively developing a new AI chip to replace NVIDIA, market growth centered on high-performance memory such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is anticipated.

● 'K-Memory' Duo Rides on OpenAI

According to the semiconductor industry on the 2nd, the semiconductor volume required by OpenAI for the Stargate project amounts to 900,000 wafers per month. This is double the current production of high-performance DRAM, which could further accelerate the shortage of HBM, which is made by stacking DRAM vertically.

Currently, SK Hynix leads the HBM market with a 60% market share, competing with Samsung Electronics (20%) and U.S. Micron (20%). Bank of America forecasts that in 2027, SK Hynix (54%) and Samsung Electronics (26%) will dominate the HBM market, with the combined market share of Korean companies reaching 80%. Although Samsung Electronics missed out on the fourth generation of HBM (HBM3), it has recently effectively passed NVIDIA's tests for the fifth generation (HBM3E).

For Korean semiconductor companies, there is another favorable factor from OpenAI. OpenAI is developing a new AI chip to counter NVIDIA, which currently dominates 90% of global AI semiconductor production. The Financial Times (FT) recently reported, citing sources, that OpenAI has developed a new AI chip with U.S. semiconductor design company Broadcom, scheduled for release next year. Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom, also stated in last month's earnings conference call that they have secured AI chip orders worth USD 10 billion.

An industry insider stated, "If OpenAI builds a large-scale AI data center, it will create new demand for memory semiconductors in addition to existing customers like NVIDIA," adding, "As frontrunners like OpenAI are aggressively investing, semiconductor demand could increase explosively."

● AI Semiconductor Market Likely to Experience Significant Changes

If OpenAI emerges as a major player using high-performance memory, domestic companies' bargaining power is expected to increase. When key suppliers are diversified, transactions can be made under more favorable conditions. Memory companies have been passively led in price and volume decisions due to NVIDIA's monopoly. Currently, 80% of HBM demand comes from NVIDIA.

In the long term, there is interest in whether there will be changes in the 'NVIDIA-SK Hynix system' that has dominated the AI semiconductor market. An industry insider noted, "As OpenAI introduces a new AI chip with Broadcom, the key will be who supplies the HBM and other high-performance DRAM used in it."

Meanwhile, concerns about HBM oversupply raised by Goldman Sachs and others are somewhat subsiding. Investors predicting HBM oversupply foresaw that the growth potential of the AI market in 2026 would be less than this year, and that price competition would intensify as Samsung Electronics joins as a major supplier. Kim Dong-won, a researcher at KB Securities, predicted, "The participation of Korean semiconductor companies as strategic partners in the Stargate project will dispel concerns about semiconductor oversupply."

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