Samsung Stock Jumps After Memory Chip Clears Tough Nvidia Performance Tests

Samsung Electronics’ stock on the Korean Stock Exchange jumped nearly 5% on Monday as the company reportedly snagged a chip order from the U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) stalwart Nvidia.

Rival SK Hynix stock reacted to the development, dropping about 0.40%.

A report, published exclusively by the Korean Economic Daily, citing people familiar with the matter, noted that the company has won approval from Nvidia for its most advanced HBM3E memory chip. It is the South Korean electronics giant’s fifth-generation product, comprising 12 layers.

HBM refers to high-bandwidth memory chips designed for high-speed data transfer and reduced power consumption, and are particularly used in high-performance computing and AI applications.

Nvidia is the frontrunner in the AI race, enjoying a near-monopoly position in the market for these chips. Reflecting its dominant position, Nvidia stock has gained nearly 32% year-to-date. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward the stock remained ‘bullish’ (56/100) by early Monday, but the message volume was ‘low.’

The gains have come despite a series of setbacks in China. The Trump administration has imposed restrictions on AI chip exports to China, and China, in turn, has dissuaded local clients from using the Jensen Huang-led company’s chips. 

The report said the approval for Samsung’s memory chip came 18 months after it was unveiled and that it took several attempts to convince Nvidia of the chip’s performance standards. Samsung was already shipping the HBM3E to Nvidia’s peer, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), for its MI350 AI chips.

Citing industry officials, the report said the success with Nvidia at last was achieved due to the efforts of Samsung’s chip business ahead and Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun, who sought a redesign of the chip to skirt thermal performance issues, which Nvidia took exception to.

Samsung, however, was focusing only on small volume shipments to Nvidia, given the latter already sources much of its memory chip needs from Hynix Semiconductor and, to some extent, from Micron (MU). 

The South Korean chipmaker is now looking to strike deals with major U.S. AI companies such as Nvidia, Broadcom, and Alphabet to supply its sixth-generation HBM4 chips. It was now prepping for volume shipments as early as the first half of 2026.

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