SK Hynix begins mass production of upgraded AI chip, boosting Asian semiconductor shares.

• SK Hynix has commenced mass production of a new high-bandwidth memory chip and aims to deliver it by the end of the year.
• The second-largest memory chip manufacturer globally aims to maintain its dominance in the AI memory chip market through its development.
• Nvidia has relied on the South Korean giant as its primary source of high-bandwidth memory chips for its AI chipsets.

On Thursday morning, SK Hynix's stock price increased by more than 9%, following the company's announcement that it has begun mass production of a new high-bandwidth memory chip and plans to deliver it by the end of the year.

The world's first 12-layer version of HBM3E, an advanced memory chip capable of handling high-end generative artificial intelligence work, would be the product.

SK Hynix announced that its upcoming chip will have a 36 gigabyte capacity, which is the largest among existing HBM chips. This represents a 50% increase in capacity compared to the company's previous eight-layer chip, which was launched in March and has the same thickness.

The South Korean giant has been a major supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips for AI chipsets, catering to companies like . It plans to release its latest product by the end of the year.

The second-largest memory chip manufacturer globally aims to maintain its dominance in the AI memory chip market through its development.

HBM, or High Bandwidth Memory, is a type of DRAM that utilizes vertically stacked chips to conserve space and minimize power consumption. The three primary manufacturers of HBM chips are SK Hynix and Samsung.

Micron has forecasted strong sales and profits for its fiscal first quarter, indicating continued benefits from the booming demand for HBM chips. The company expects to make a first-quarter profit of $1.74 per share on $8.7 billion in revenue, which beats market projections for profits of $1.65 per share on $8.28 billion in revenue, according to LSEG consensus estimates.

The world's largest memory chipmaker, Samsung Electronics, advanced over 3%, while Asian chip stocks rallied Thursday morning, with Micron's upbeat forecasts and SK Hynix's announcement boosting the market.

The benchmark South Korean blue chip Kospi index rose 2%.

— Reuters contributed to the story.