By Heekyong Yang and Hyunjoo Jin SEOUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics customers have praised the differentiated competitiveness of its next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, or HBM4, saying "Samsung is back", co-CEO and chip chief Jun Young-hyun said in a New Year address. Shares of Samsung Electronics and its rival SK Hynix were up 4.5% and 3.1%, outpacing the benchmark KOSPI's rise of 1.4% as of 0320 GMT. In October, Samsung said it was in "close discussion" to supply its HBM4 to U.S. artificial intelligence leader Nvidia, as the South Korean chipmaker scrambles to catch rivals including compatriot SK Hynix in AI chips. "On HBM4 in particular, customers have even stated that 'Samsung is back'," Jun said in remarks reviewed by Reuters, adding that the company still had work to do to further improve competitiveness. SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung said in New Year remarks reviewed by Reuters that the company benefited from favourable external conditions as demand for artificial-intelligence chips materialised faster than expected. He cautioned that competition was intensifying rapidly, noting that AI demand was now a given rather than an upside surprise, and said the business environment in 2026 would be tougher than last year, while stressing that the need for continued bolder investment and effort to prepare for the future. SK Hynix was the leading player in the HBM market in the third quarter of 2025 with a 53% share, followed by Samsung at 35% and Micron at 11%, data from Counterpoint Research showed. Turning to its foundry business, which manufactures chips designed by customers, Jun said recent supply deals with major global customers had left the foundry business "primed for a great leap forward." In July, Samsung Electronics signed a $16.5 billion deal with Tesla. In a separate address, Samsung Electronics' co-CEO TM Roh, who also heads the company's device experience division overseeing its mobile phone, TV and home appliance businesses, warned that 2026 was expected to bring greater uncertainty and risks, citing rising component prices and global tariff barriers. "To position ourselves to maintain a competitive advantage in any situation, we will reinforce our core competitiveness through proactive supply chain diversification and optimisation of global operations to address issues like component sourcing and pricing, and global tariff risks," Roh said. (Reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Christopher Cushing and Kate Mayberry)
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