In the first half of 2026, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix semiconductor facilities investment combined totaled 43.2 trillion won, up 35.1% year over year. Both companies achieved capacity utilization rates of 100% to meet strong AI memory demand. In terms of customer structure, NVIDIA’s revenue share at SK Hynix fell to 13.35%, and it did not make it into Samsung’s top five customers. This reflects that AI memory demand is shifting from being heavily reliant on NVIDIA toward a more diversified and distributed set of customers, with competitive focus moving to next-generation products and a broader group of AI chip customers.
Driven by demand for artificial intelligence, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have aggressively expanded capacity. In the first half of 2026, their combined semiconductor facilities investment grew by more than 30% year over year.
On August 17, according to South Korean media outlet Etoday, citing the two companies’ 2026 first-half reports, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix combined semiconductor facility investments totaled KRW 43.198 trillion in the first half of 2026, up 35.1% from KRW 31.98 trillion in the same period of the previous year. Both companies’ capacity utilization rates reached 100%, indicating strong current demand for AI storage.
In terms of customer mix, NVIDIA’s share of SK hynix revenue fell from 24% for the full year of 2025 to 13.35%, while NVIDIA did not even appear among Samsung’s top five customers in the same period. This reflects differences in how the two companies have positioned their AI businesses.
AI demand is strong; the two storage giants accelerate capacity expansion
In terms of investment pace, SK hynix’s expansion is more aggressive.
Samsung Electronics’ DS division’s facility investment in the first half grew 23.5% year over year, mainly directed to next-generation storage, advanced process capacity, and related infrastructure. SK hynix’s facility investment surged 56.4% year over year, focusing on meeting demand for HBM, high-capacity DRAM, and enterprise SSDs.
Both companies’ capacity utilization rates are at 100%, meaning existing capacity is essentially operating at full load. Against the backdrop of ongoing AI infrastructure buildout, demand for high-end storage products such as HBM is growing rapidly, prompting Samsung and SK hynix to expand capacity ahead of next-generation products.
In other words, this round of capital expenditures is not simply about catching up with current demand; it is about competing for production capacity and technological advantages in the next cycle of AI storage growth.
R&D investment hits record highs; SK hynix’s growth nearly doubles
Beyond the expansion of capital expenditures, the two companies are also simultaneously ramping up R&D spending.
Samsung Electronics’ total R&D spending in the first half reached KRW 27.363 trillion, up 51.5% year over year, setting a record high for any first half period. However, Samsung did not disclose R&D spending for its DS division separately. SK hynix’s R&D spending growth is even more pronounced: in the first half it reached KRW 6.043 trillion, up 98.4% year over year, roughly equivalent to 90% of its full-year 2025 R&D spending.
Competition among storage vendors is also extending beyond traditional process and capacity competition, further into the AI computing ecosystem.
According to reports from the Korean media, Micron recently launched the Micron Ventures Paradigm Fund with a size of $250 million, which is the largest venture capital fund the company has launched to date. It focuses on areas including AI model architectures, computing, enterprise applications, and embodied AI. Its intent is to lay groundwork in advance for potential AI technology trends and build a partner network related to next-generation storage and computing products.
AI storage demand is shifting from “reliance on NVIDIA” to “more diversified and distributed”
The half-year report shows that changes in customer mix are one of the most notable highlights of the period.
According to the Seoul Economic Daily, in the first half of 2026 SK hynix’s revenue from NVIDIA reached KRW 17.6087 trillion, accounting for 13.35% of total revenue—lower than NVIDIA’s 24% share for the full year of 2025.
This shift does not mean that NVIDIA’s importance is declining. On the contrary, SK hynix is expanding its supply of self-developed AI chips for large tech companies, making its customer mix more diversified as a result. As SK hynix supports NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin platform to advance HBM4 supply, NVIDIA’s contribution to SK hynix’s revenue in the second half is still expected to rebound.
Samsung’s customer mix shows an even higher level of concentration. According to its first-half report, the combined revenue share of its top five customers is about 25%, while NVIDIA was unable to enter that lineup.
This means that, alongside the explosion in AI chip demand, the relationship between storage vendors and customers is changing: NVIDIA remains one of the most important customers in the HBM market, but as tech giants such as Alphabet and Amazon accelerate in-house ASIC development, the sources of AI storage demand are becoming increasingly diversified.
For Samsung and SK hynix, the next phase of competition is no longer just about “who can produce more HBM,” but also about who can tap into the ever-expanding customer base of AI chips faster, and who can secure more core customers in next-generation products such as HBM4.
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