Microsoft's newly unveiled artificial intelligence (AI) chip Maia 200 is being exclusively supplied with HBM (high-bandwidth memory) by SK Hynix.
According to the semiconductor industry and securities firms on the 27th, SK Hynix is supplying HBM3E as a sole vendor to Microsoft's 'Maia 200' AI accelerator unveiled on the 26th (local time). The Maia AI accelerator uses a total of 216GB HBM3E, with 6 units of SK Hynix's 12-layer HBM3E mounted.
As SK Hynix becomes the exclusive supplier of HBM for Microsoft, competition in the ASIC (customized AI semiconductor) market is expected to intensify further. This is because while intense competition is unfolding between Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix over Nvidia's general-purpose market, Samsung Electronics is known to supply more to Google TPU. As it has been revealed that SK Hynix supplies HBM to Microsoft, another major customer, the competitive landscape between the two companies is becoming increasingly intense.
