Intel teams with SK hynix to jointly develop next-gen AI semiconductors, should feature HBM4

Intel and SK hynix are teaming up to jointly develop next-generation AI semiconductors according to new reports, where SK hynix's new 6th-generation HBM4 would be used on Intel's next-gen Gaudi AI accelerator codenamed Jaguar Shores.

According to industry sources, on July 1, SK hynix's Head of Software Solutions VP, Woo-sup Jeong, said at the Intel AI Summit: "we are collaborating on HBM related to Intel's Gaudi AI accelerator". The news was picked up by insider @Jukanrosleve on X, where if true, the use of SK hynix's new HBM4 on Intel's next-gen AI accelerator would remove the reliance on NVIDIA, which accounts for around 80% of SK hynix's HBM business.

SK hynix stated: "we have had a long-standing partnership with Intel. There are no specific confirmed details regarding HBM4 collaboration with Intel yet".

On Intel's side, the company has been massively lagging behind the competition in AI accelerator development, with a gigantic technological gap between Intel and NVIDIA. In order to overcome this gap, Intel launched its Gaudi 3 AI accelerator last year, which used 3rd-generation HBM: HBM2E. But, it wasn't enough...

Big tech companies have been moving to make their own chips using the ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) method, with Intel's share of the AI chip market not really even turning up on the radar. The new partnership between Intel and SK hynix would help this, with the purported collaboration on next-gen AI semiconductors using HBM4.

SK hynix holds around 50% of the HBM market share and is the leading company when it comes to completing sample shipments of next-generation HBM4 memory. Intel is expected to pursue sales of its next-gen Gaudi AI accelerators in South Korea as well, with cooperation expected in initiatives like the "AI Expressway" that's promoted by the new South Korean government.

At the Intel AI Summit, Intel Korea CEO Tae-won Bae, said: "Intel is not merely selling GPU cards like Gaudi, but is actively supporting the strengthening of competitiveness and fostering the industrial ecosystem for domestic and international startups and innovative companies".