Industry sources revealed on June 29 that while preparations for mass production of Compute Express Link (CXL) memory are technically complete, the lack of demand has stalled plans for its commercialization. This development highlights the ongoing challenges faced by major players like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix in bringing next-generation memory technologies to market amidst a booming AI semiconductor landscape dominated by NVIDIA.

Both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have been working diligently on commercializing CXL and Processing In Memory (PIM) technologies. Samsung anticipated a surge in the CXL memory market in the latter half of last year, yet quality certification procedures with key clients remain incomplete. Meanwhile, SK Hynix’s efforts to develop PIM technology since 2022 have not progressed to actual product stages due to delays in ecosystem expansion. Despite these hurdles, industry experts emphasize the importance of establishing an ecosystem foundation for these technologies, predicting a gradual diversification in AI memory demand structure.

The strong demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), particularly driven by NVIDIA’s focus on this technology for its major accelerator products, has filled most orders for packaging and bonding equipment. This preference has delayed the application of CXL and PIM technologies, which aim to complement HBM in power efficiency and scalability. A semiconductor equipment industry official noted, “The demand for HBM is so strong that most orders for packaging and bonding equipment are filled with the purpose of HBM advancement.”

NVIDIA’s dominance in the AI data center GPU market—holding an estimated 92% market share last year according to IoT Analytics—further complicates efforts by competitors like AMD and Broadcom to expand their presence. The performance gap between these companies and NVIDIA remains significant, posing challenges to catching up in the short term.

Adding to these complexities is the rapid technological advancement by Chinese companies, bolstered by government subsidies. There is growing concern that China may achieve commercialization of CXL and PIM technologies first, potentially altering global competitive dynamics.

An anonymous fabless industry official stressed the need for government intervention: “The government needs to support a demonstration base to ensure continuous technology development regardless of market demand through national projects.” This sentiment underscores fears that domestic technology may lag if development halts due to insufficient demand.

As it stands, while technical readiness for mass production exists, the absence of immediate client adoption continues to impede progress. Industry insiders suggest that proactive measures should be taken to foster an ecosystem conducive to future commercialization opportunities. The current status reflects a waiting game as stakeholders anticipate shifts in technology paradigms that could eventually favor next-generation memory solutions like CXL and PIM over existing preferences such as HBM.