SK Hynix is considering outsourcing the manufacturing of some HBM base dies to Intel, in a bid to reduce its heavy reliance on TSMC’s wafer‑foundry services. The initiative is expected to be rolled out gradually starting with HBM4E, its seventh‑generation HBM chip.
For HBM3E and earlier product generations, SK Hynix had long manufactured base chips at its in‑house production lines. As performance and logic‑function requirements for base dies keep rising, however, the company switched to TSMC for foundry services beginning with HBM4. The mass‑produced HBM4 base dies are currently fabricated on TSMC’s 12‑nanometer‑class process.
Industry analysts point out that the price of TSMC‑produced base dies under the HBM4 solution has reached three to four times that of core chips manufactured by SK Hynix on its proprietary 10‑nanometer‑class 5th‑generation process. This cost burden is projected to grow even heavier for the HBM4E generation.
Meanwhile, since HBM products are largely supplied under long‑term agreements (LTAs), SK Hynix cannot easily pass rising foundry costs on to end‑user prices in the short run. Building a multi‑supplier ecosystem to strengthen its pricing‑negotiation leverage has therefore become an inevitable strategic priority across its supply‑chain layout.
Should Intel successfully join its supplier pool, SK Hynix is expected to cut unit costs, bolster supply stability, and effectively diversify geopolitical and capacity‑related risks while lowering its dependence on a single foundry partner.
SK Hynix is presently actively evaluating multiple packaging solutions including TSMC’s CoWoS‑S, CoWoS‑L and Intel’s EMIB technology. This move aims to secure broader technical options and greater bargaining power for heterogeneous integration and system‑level performance optimization, potentially opening new opportunities for diversified development within the HBM ecosystem.
(Reprinted from https://news.eccn.com/）