According to reports from Korean media ZDnet Korea, SK Hynix has re-selled AI chip H20 in the Chinese market due to NVIDIA (NVIDIA), which will expand the 8-layer stacking capacity of HBM3E, bringing unexpected revenue to SK Hynix and improving operating capabilities.
H20 is a reduced-regulated version of AI chips launched by NVIDIA to avoid the US export control of China's AI chips. The performance is lower than that of NVIDIA's main products. In April, the U.S. government issued an indefinite export ban on H20, causing NVIDIA to lose about $5.5 billion in cost. However, the US government recently reopened H20 exports to China. NVIDIA's official blog on the 15th said it will restart the H20 GPU sales in the Chinese market and resubmit the application.
TheH20 chip initially uses HBM3 memory, but in order to improve performance, NVIDIA changed to an 8-layer stacking product mainly equipped with SK Hynix's HBM3E. NVIDIA has requested SK Hynix and Micron to add 8-layer stacking products to HBM3E, among which SK Hynix has gained the status of the first-choice supplier. At this stage, SK Hynix has started supplying H20 with 8-layer stacking products for HBM3E in the first quarter of 2025 and plans to continue production until season three. In addition, considering possible additional demands, SK Hynix is discussing the expansion of the 8-layer stacking production of HBM3E and reviewing orders for additional materials and components.
Market news highlighted that as H20 is re-approved for exports to China, SK Hynix is expanding the production capacity of HBM3E's 8-layer stacking. SK Hynix originally planned to produce HBM3E in the second half of 2025, with 12-layer stacking products accounting for 80% and 8-layer stacking products accounting for 20%. However, due to the restart of H20 exports to China, HBM3E's 8-layer stacking production ratio is expected to exceed the original expectations.
However, there are variations in NVIDIA supply chain strategy. During the period when H20 exports were blocked, NVIDIA canceled TECHNOLOGY and distributed the production lines to other customers. To restart H20 mass production, it will take about nine months. NVIDIA must solve the problem of H20 mass production bottles in order to truly expand its business. US media The Information quoted market news that NVIDIA H20 mainly operates SK Hynix's HBM, but SK Hynix informed NVIDIA this week that the H20 memory supply is limited and NVIDIA is actively contacting major Chinese customers to understand their demand for H20 and Blackwell chips to adjust their configuration capabilities.