Samsung Strike Met With Micron Poaching. Micron Recruits HBM Talent in Korea: Can It Seize Opportunity to Rewrite Memory Industry Landscape?

TradingKey - On Thursday, May 21, Samsung announced that labor and management have reached a preliminary agreement, including terms where management will allocate 10.5% of the company's performance as a source for uncapped bonuses. Samsung Electronics stated in a statement that it will suspend the strike plan originally scheduled for May 21 to June 7.

However, this preliminary agreement met with opposition from shareholder groups, who stated that the agreement was finalized without a resolution from the general meeting of shareholders and is legally invalid.

Meanwhile, media outlets such as Business Korea reported that Micron (MU) recently launched recruitment for HBM design positions in South Korea, possibly aiming to attract semiconductor talent that might leave Samsung amid its strained labor relations; this move is seen as an effort by Micron to catch up with rivals in the HBM4 field.

Multiple positions recently posted by Micron in South Korea primarily focus on next-generation HBM R&D, aiming to develop HBM solutions for AI, machine learning, and high-performance computing applications. The work covers DRAM circuit design, power-area-speed optimization, architectural review, and functional verification, as well as the R&D of core technologies like Through-Silicon Via (TSV)-based 3D stacking, power optimization, and high-speed interfaces.

Analysis suggests that Micron's desire to headhunt Samsung's talent is mainly to catch up with its lagging progress in the HBM4 race.

Missing Out on Initial NVIDIA Rubin Orders: Where Did Micron’s HBM4 Fall Short?

The primary reason Micron has fallen behind among the HBM "Big Three" is that it missed the first batch of orders for NVIDIA's (NVDA) latest Rubin architecture AI GPUs; its core HBM4 products failed to pass NVIDIA's initial qualification, resulting in the orders being split between SK Hynix and Samsung.

However, this is not because Micron is technologically lagging, but rather because the company chose to design its own DRAM and HBM4 base dies. SK Hynix opted for TSMC's (TSM) advanced processes, while Samsung possesses its own foundries. This differs from Micron's "start-from-scratch" approach, leaving it significantly behind competitors in HBM4 process precision.

Currently, according to information from Micron executives, the company plans to resubmit an optimized HBM4 solution for qualification testing in the second quarter of 2026 and aims to scale high-yield production in the second half of 2026 to regain market share in mid-range AI chips and subsequent models of the Rubin architecture.

Can Micron seize the opportunity to catch up with Samsung?

Micron's decision to recruit South Korean employees amidst the Samsung strike may inject fresh blood into its HBM R&D, thereby bolstering its long-term competitiveness; however, overtaking Samsung remains difficult in the short term. The most significant issue Micron currently faces is that, having missed Nvidia's initial orders, it now lags behind Samsung and SK Hynix by a development cycle gap of approximately nine months. As long as Samsung maintains steady progress in the next phase, it will be challenging for Micron to close the gap all at once, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Furthermore, Micron's HBM production capacity is significantly smaller than that of its two South Korean rivals, making it incapable of meeting the currently surging memory demand.

In the long run, Micron is expected to achieve a breakthrough through differentiated competition with its two rivals. Micron significantly leads Samsung and SK Hynix in power consumption control and thermal dissipation technology, which are among the technical highlights Nvidia values most. Micron was the first to develop 24Gb DRAM dies; HBM achieves high capacity through multi-layer stacking of these DRAM chips. Micron’s 24Gb DRAM dies require only an 8-layer stack to achieve the same capacity that competitors need 12 layers for, which undoubtedly reduces structural complexity for Micron. By absorbing talent from Samsung, Micron is poised to integrate its rivals' experience and build a more robust technological moat.