Memory Chips & HBM
Every AI model is bottlenecked by memory — how fast it can access the data it needs to think. High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) is the breakthrough technology solving that problem, stacking DRAM chips vertically to achieve speeds conventional memory cannot match. The three companies that make HBM — Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron — are now as critical to the AI supply chain as NVIDIA itself.
The only US-based manufacturer of DRAM and NAND flash memory. Its HBM3E is inside NVIDIA's H200 GPU. Micron is spending $100B+ to build new US fabs backed by CHIPS Act funding. A direct play on AI memory demand from a domestic supply chain perspective.
The world's largest memory chip maker — dominant in both DRAM and NAND flash. Its HBM supply is the most coveted in the industry: a slot in Samsung's HBM allocation is effectively a guaranteed revenue stream. Also makes logic chips in its foundry division.
Spun off from Western Digital in 2024 to focus entirely on NAND flash. Owns some of the most advanced 3D NAND manufacturing in the world. A pure-play listed alternative to holding Western Digital for investors specifically focused on flash memory.
Japan's largest NAND flash maker and the world's second-largest behind Samsung. Spun out of Toshiba's memory division in 2019, KIOXIA produces 3D NAND used in smartphones, data centres, and enterprise SSDs. One of only six companies that can manufacture flash memory at scale — when Kioxia's supply shifts, NAND prices follow.
Scores 9/10 for Data Storage.
Scores 9/10 for Data Storage.
Scores 9/10 for Data Storage.
Scores 9/10 for Memory Chips.
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