Samsung has finally turned the tables on HBM – and then 50,000 workers said they want to strike.

Let's rewind a bit: On February 12, Samsung announced it was the first in the world to mass-produce HBM4, using sixth-generation 1c nanometer DRAM process with a 4nm logic base chip, beating the competition to the punch. By early May, it was confirmed that Samsung had passed the final tests for HBM4 with AMD and other partners, and by June, they were ready to supply.
Is the competition sweating? Probably a little. If Samsung's HBM4 really takes off in the second half of the year, the competitor's market share could drop from over 65% to around 50-60%. Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are already looking to negotiate prepayments to secure production capacity with the competitor – a big client hedging against supplier concentration risks is a clear signal.
But Samsung might have bigger troubles on its hands.
This week, negotiations over wages with over 50,000 Samsung workers broke down. The union has declared: starting May 21, an 18-day strike. This isn't just your average labor dispute – if the strike happens, production lines could come to a halt right when HBM4 is set to ramp up after passing testing, forcing the competitor to recalibrate its supply rhythm for GB300 in the second half of the year.
The moment a technical breakthrough is achieved often isn't the end, but rather the starting point for a new set of risks. Samsung has won the tech race for HBM4, but whether they can win the supply race will be revealed on May 21.
#TradfiTradingChallenge