SK Hynix Establishes Dedicated HBM Team... "Evolving into an AI Infrastructure Company"

SK Hynix Implements Organizational Restructuring and Personnel Changes
New HBM Dedicated Team 'AI Infra' Established

Kim Juseon Appointed Head of AI Infra
Reflecting Business Characteristics Emphasizing Customer Communication

SK Hynix has established a dedicated organization called 'AI Infra' to strengthen its competitiveness in the high value-added High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) business. The head of the AI Infra organization is President Kim Juseon, who previously led the GSM (Global Sales & Marketing) organization. This appointment is seen as reflecting the importance of collaboration with customers in the HBM business.

On the 7th, SK Hynix carried out an organizational restructuring and executive appointments for 2024 after reporting to the board of directors. The company stated that it established the AI Infra organization to "enhance AI technology competitiveness and lead innovations that meet customer demands and trends."

M16 exterior view at SK Hynix Icheon campus / Photo by SK Hynix

Under the AI Infra organization, a new 'HBM Business' unit was created to consolidate HBM capabilities and functions that were previously scattered within the company, and an 'AI&Next' unit was established to explore new AI markets including next-generation HBM. Additionally, the GSM organization, which had been responsible for communicating with HBM customers, was incorporated into the AI Infra organization.

President Kim has been appointed to lead AI Infra. He was promoted from his role in GSM and will now be responsible for the company's most important growth area, the HBM business. Going forward, he will serve as the head of AI Infra while simultaneously managing GSM and the Americas region.

The reason a GSM leader, rather than a technical expert, is leading the HBM business is due to the nature of HBM products. Generally, memory semiconductors are standardized products developed by suppliers and mass-produced for sale. In contrast, HBM is a customized product developed according to customer requirements. Therefore, President Kim's experience in building trust with customers is crucial.

President Juseon Kim, Head of AI Infra at SK Hynix / Photo by SK Hynix

An industry insider said, "HBM requires close communication with customers throughout the manufacturing process," adding, "There must have been strengths in maintaining good relationships and communication with customers." The insider also noted, "The GSM role requires a high level of market understanding and insight, which likely influenced this decision."

SK Hynix counts NVIDIA, a U.S. company holding 90% of the AI graphics processing unit (GPU) market, as an HBM customer. Through close cooperation with NVIDIA since the early days of the HBM business, SK Hynix currently shares the leading market position with Samsung Electronics in the HBM market.

The market expects NVIDIA's dominance in the GPU business to continue for the next two to three years, which represents a significant opportunity for SK Hynix to boost its performance. Market research firm Gartner forecasts that the global HBM market size will grow from $3.319 billion next year to $5.177 billion by 2027.

Kwack Nojung, President of SK Hynix, said, "Through this organizational restructuring and executive appointments, we aim to strengthen differentiated specialty memory capabilities by customer," adding, "We will strive to evolve and develop as a core global company leading the AI infrastructure market."

Meanwhile, with Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho stepping down from his CEO position, SK Hynix now operates under a single CEO system led by President Kwack Nojung. Vice Chairman Park plans to focus on preparing future growth engines by leading AI alliances with global big tech companies as Vice Chairman of SK Inc. and SK Hynix.