Seoul: South Korean chip giant SK hynix Inc. has risen to the No. 1 position in the global dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market for the first time in the first quarter of this year, industry data showed Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, SK hynix secured a 36 percent global market share in terms of sales, edging out Samsung Electronics Co. at 34 percent and Micron Technology Inc. at 25 percent, based on data from industry tracker Counterpoint Research. This marks the first time SK hynix has surpassed Samsung Electronics in quarterly DRAM market share.

The achievement is attributed to strong sales of SK hynix's high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. "SK hynix has successfully dealt with rising demand for DRAMs, particularly HBM products," Choi Jeong-ku, a researcher at Counterpoint Research, said. "It is a milestone for the company."

According to separate data from corporate research firm Trend Force, Samsung Electronics led the DRAM market in the fourth quarter of last year with a 39.3 percent share, while SK hynix held 36.6 percent. SK hynix currently leads the HBM market with its industry-leading fifth-generation HBM3E products driven by booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) computing. HBM plays a critical role in graphics processing units (GPUs), a market largely dominated by Nvidia Corp.

Counterpoint Research expects SK hynix to maintain its lead in the second quarter. Demand for HBM is projected to remain resilient and be less affected by U.S. tariff policies in the short-term due to the booming AI sector, it noted. The firm, however, warned that a broader economic slowdown or potential trade war could pose risks to HBM growth.