Seoul: SK hynix Inc. has ordered new high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production equipment from Hanmi Semiconductor in a deal worth 44.2 billion won (US$28.7 million), a regulatory filing showed Monday, in a possible bid to expand production of HBM4 products for U.S. chip giant Nvidia Corp.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Hanmi Semiconductor announced in a regulatory filing that it has secured the deal to supply thermo-compression (TC) bonders to SK hynix through early September. A TC bonder, deemed essential in HBM production, is utilized to stack multiple dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips to produce HBM. With each TC bonder typically priced at around 3 billion won, industry observers noted that the agreement likely includes 15 units.

Hanmi Semiconductor stated it will provide the TC Bonder 4.5 Griffin, an upgraded version of the TC Bonder 4.0 announced in May last year, which is believed to have been optimized for SK hynix's requirements. Industry analysts indicated that the equipment will be dispatched to the new M15X fab in Cheongju, approximately 110 kilometers south of Seoul.

SK hynix initiated mass production of HBM4 products in September last year, which are slated for installation in Nvidia's Vera Rubin artificial intelligence platform. Earlier in the day, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won emphasized the company's commitment to ensuring a stable chip supply to Nvidia, stating, "Most of our cooperation so far has centered on memory, but from now on, we will elevate our partnership to a higher level."