SK Hynix is pouring the bulk of its new investment into advancing MR-MUF and TSV technologies, Lee said. Samsung, which has for years been distracted by a succession saga at its very top, is now fighting back. Nvidia last year gave the nod to Samsung's HBM chips, and the Suwon-based company said on Feb. 26 it has developed the fifth generation of the technology, HBM3E, with 12 layers of DRAM chips and the industry's largest capacity of 36GB. On the same day, Boise, Idaho-based Micron surprised industry watchers by saying it begun volume production of 24GB, eight-layer HBM3E, which will be part of Nvidia's H200 Tensor Core units shipping in the second quarter. With its big commitment to expanding and enhancing technology at home and a multibillion-dollar advanced packaging facility planned for the US, Lee remains bullish about SK Hynix's prospects in the face of intensifying competition.