Samsung Electronics could displace SK Hynix as the leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) in 2027, according to a new report from Taiwanese trade publication Digitimes.

The projection marks a significant call on the direction of one of the semiconductor industry's most closely watched segments. SK Hynix currently holds the top position in HBM supply, a market that has grown rapidly on demand from AI accelerator manufacturers. Digitimes now sees that lead as vulnerable on a two-to-three-year horizon.

The report singles out 2027 as the potential inflection year — the point at which Samsung's pipeline could deliver enough volume and qualified product to overtake its Korean rival.

What does the claim rest on?

The Digitimes projection follows a period in which SK Hynix has held the number-one HBM supplier position, built on its early qualification with major AI chipmakers and its share of advanced HBM generations.

Samsung has been working to close the gap. The company has stated publicly that it intends to regain leadership in the HBM segment, and 2027 has now surfaced in the Digitimes analysis as the year in which that goal could realistically be achieved.

The projected shift would hinge on several factors the report frames over the medium term:

• Successful qualification of Samsung's next HBM generations with major customers
• Ramp of production capacity on a scale sufficient to displace the incumbent leader
• Continued growth of overall HBM demand driven by AI hardware

Why does the timing matter?

A leadership change in 2027 would arrive well into the current AI infrastructure build-out. Memory vendors are allocating capital to HBM because the product commands substantially higher prices and margins per bit than conventional DRAM, and suppliers that secure design wins in leading-edge generations capture a disproportionate share of that value.

For SK Hynix, the projection implies its lead is not structurally secure. The company built its position through early qualification and supply agreements for high-end HBM, but Digitimes sees Samsung's scale and roadmap as capable of eroding that advantage before the decade's end.

For Samsung, 2027 represents a target consistent with its stated ambition to return to the top of the HBM market after losing ground during the current AI cycle.

What remains uncertain?

The projection is a forecast, not a result. Supplier rankings in HBM depend on customer qualifications that are decided generation by generation, and leadership has already shifted between suppliers as new HBM versions reach the market.

Key variables between now and 2027 include:

• The pace at which Samsung's current and next-generation HBM passes qualification with major accelerator vendors
• SK Hynix's ability to defend its position through advanced-node capacity and early time-to-market on future HBM generations
• Total HBM demand from AI datacenter customers and its allocation across suppliers

Digitimes publishes the projection as part of its supply-chain coverage of the Taiwanese and broader Asian semiconductor industry.

Neither Samsung nor SK Hynix has confirmed the specific competitive timeline outlined in the report. The 2027 date reflects the publication's own analysis of supplier pipelines and qualification trajectories rather than an announcement from either company.