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SK Hynix to exclusively supply HBM3E for Microsoft Maia 200 AI accelerator
Monday, January 26, 2026 at 08:17 PM
SK Hynix has secured an exclusive contract to supply its 12-layer HBM3E memory for Microsoft's Maia 200 AI accelerator. Each Maia 200 chip features six HBM3E stacks for a total capacity of 216GB, representing a significant increase over the previous generation. This supply deal highlights the intensifying competition in the custom ASIC market among hyper-scalers, where Samsung currently maintains a strong position with Google's TPU, while SK Hynix captures Microsoft's hardware infrastructure.
Context
SK Hynix has secured an exclusive deal to supply its fifth-generation HBM3E memory for Microsoft’s new Maia 200 AI accelerator. The hardware features 216GB of memory via six 12-layer stacks, more than tripling the 64GB capacity of the previous version. These chips are already being integrated into data centers to support Microsoft Copilot and OpenAI’s upcoming GPT-5.2 model, positioning SK Hynix as a dominant force in the high-growth custom ASIC market.
This partnership highlights a strategic divide in the global supply chain, as Samsung Electronics currently maintains its lead supplying Google’s TPU chips. As hyperscalers shift toward internal silicon to improve efficiency over generic hardware, the massive increase in memory density per unit serves as a significant revenue tailwind. This trend confirms that high-capacity HBM remains the primary hardware bottleneck and profit driver for the semiconductor industry heading into 2026.
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