Nvidia and SK Hynix are further expanding their partnership with a multi-year agreement to develop new generations of AI memory and infrastructure technology. At the same time, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (photo) confirmed that the company’s new Vera processor uses DRAM memory from SK Hynix.
According to Bloomberg, the agreement covers both the design and production of future chips. Nvidia reports that the partnership is intended to extend beyond just memory technology. Both companies also plan to collaborate on AI infrastructure and applications for physical AI, a collective term for AI systems that work directly with machines and robots.
For SK Hynix, the deal means a further strengthening of its position within Nvidia’s rapidly growing AI ecosystem. The South Korean manufacturer is already considered one of the key suppliers of advanced memory for AI accelerators.
HBM4 becomes the next battleground
The announcement comes as the market prepares for the introduction of HBM4, the next generation of High Bandwidth Memory. This memory technology plays a crucial role in AI systems because it can process large amounts of data at high speeds.
Last week, Huang announced that Nvidia has certified three suppliers for the production of HBM4 memory: SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron. Together, the three companies dominate the global market for advanced memory and are fiercely competing for contracts for future AI platforms.
The new memory will be used in Vera Rubin, Nvidia’s next-generation AI infrastructure, among other applications. According to Huang, this platform is now fully in production. Deliveries of the first systems are scheduled for the third quarter of this year. The servers combine Vera processors with Rubin GPUs and multiple terabytes of HBM4 memory.
During a visit to South Korea, Huang provided further insight into the partnership. After meeting with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung, he stated that Nvidia, together with SK Hynix, is preparing for a strong second half of the year and further growth in 2027.
He also confirmed that the new Vera CPU uses DRAM memory from SK Hynix, Bloomberg reports. Vera is Nvidia’s first standalone server processor for data centers and represents a new step in the company’s strategy to offer its own CPU platform alongside GPUs.
With Vera, Nvidia is entering the data center processor market directly, where it will compete with Intel Xeon, AMD Epyc, and the proprietary chip designs of hyperscalers such as Amazon Graviton.
Demand for AI memory continues to grow
Analysts expect the partnership to benefit both companies. In addition to HBM memory, SK Hynix also supplies DRAM and SSD storage for AI systems. The growth of AI training and inference is driving increasing demand for all three product categories.
Long-term agreements with Nvidia also give SK Hynix greater certainty as it expands its production capacity. This appears to position the company to further strengthen its role as one of Nvidia’s key memory partners in the coming years.