Is 2026 a comeback year for Samsung in AI chips? Co-CEO reveals in New Year address

Samsung Electronics has received its customers’ praise for its next-generation high-bandwidth memory, HBM4 chips based on the differentiated competitiveness.

Co-CEO and chip chief Jun Yonf-hyun in his New Year address hinted at the major comeback of the South Korean giant, stating “Samsung is back,” as the demand for AI chips has accelerated.

As reported by Reuters, the positive customers’ reviews regarding Samsung’s upcoming High Bandwidth Memory products have reignited the confidence and growth in the company’s AI-focused memory strategy.

Earlier in October 2025, Samsung was in “close discussion”, aiming to supply its cutting-edge HBM4 to US-based AI chipmaker Nvidia in a bid to compete with rivals, including SK Hynix in the AI chip race.

Following the development of HBM4 chips, the shares of Samsung Electronics surged to 7.2 percent, contrary to SK Hynix which ended up 4 percent on the first trading day of the year.

Earlier SK Hynix dominated the HBM market in the third quarter of 2025 with 53 percent. On the other hand, Samsung and Micron held 35 percent and 11 percent share respectively, as reported by Counterpoint Research.

According to Jun, the supply deals with major global customers had been responsible for the business' “great leap forward.”

For instance, the chipmaker signed a $16.5 billion deal with Elon Musk’s Tesla.

He also mentioned that surging demand for AI-powered chips has also benefited the company’s growth.

On the same hand, the highly-competitive AI landscape would potentially make the business environment difficult in 2026, while emphasizing on the future preparedness and hefty investment.

Samsung Electronics' co-CEO TM Roh cited that the year 2026 would likely bring uncertainty on the grounds of global tariff constraints and high prices.

Roh added, “To position ourselves to maintain a competitive advantage in any situation for years to come, 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.”