SK Hynix has ordered seven thermal compression bonder sets from Singapore-based ASMPT for its next-generation HBM4 memory production, valued at approximately ₩30 billion ($20 million), TheElec reported.
The contract, finalized last month, marks continued gains for ASMPT as SK Hynix’s Korean equipment suppliers remain locked in legal combat. Hanmi Semiconductor filed a patent infringement lawsuit against rival Hanwha Semitech in December 2024, prompting countersuits and a petition to invalidate the patents in question.
The dispute has disrupted SK Hynix’s supply chain dynamics. Hanmi, the chipmaker’s exclusive TC bonder supplier until last year, withdrew roughly 60 service engineers from SK Hynix facilities in April—widely interpreted as protest against orders placed with Hanwha.
ASMPT now supplies about half of SK Hynix’s approximately 50 TC bonder sets used for current HBM4 production, TheElec reported. Each unit carries a price tag of around ₩4 billion ($2.7 million).
A larger order of approximately 100 bonder sets is expected in March when SK Hynix expands capacity at its M15X facility in Cheongju for HBM4 production using advanced 1b DRAM technology. How the chipmaker divides that order among the three competing suppliers remains uncertain.
HBM4 is slated for deployment in Nvidia’s upcoming Rubin AI processors. SK Hynix has reportedly concluded supply discussions with the American GPU maker.
