The world’s largest tech companies have descended on the Las Vegas Convention Center to showcase their latest innovations at Consumers Electronics Show (CES) 2024. Dubbed “the world’s most powerful tech event”, CES 2024 opened its doors on January 9 and is welcoming more than 4,000 exhibitors and thousands of visitors through January 12.
Figure 1. SK Wonderland features various amusement park-themed attractions
Alongside six other SK Group affiliates, SK hynix is inviting guests to SK Wonderland, an amusement park-themed showroom where visitors can experience a net-zero world free from climate change. Within SK Wonderland stands SK hynix’s booth, which features industry-leading AI solutions and an innovative AI fortune teller.
Fueling the Generative AI Revolution With Next-Generation Memory Solutions
Figure 2. The AI fortune teller sits at the center of SK hynix’s booth
As AI continues to advance and permeate various aspects of our daily lives, demand is increasing for high-performance memory which can handle the growing requirements of these AI systems. In response, SK hynix developed groundbreaking memory solutions including the world’s best performing HBM3E, the fifth generation of High Bandwidth Memory1 (HBM).
Figure 3. SK hynix’s leading HBM3E solution presented at CES 2024
At CES 2024, visitors to SK hynix’s booth can discover the vast potential and applications of HBM3E. Offering the industry’s highest data processing speed of 1.18 terabytes (TB) per second, HBM3E satisfies the AI market’s need to rapidly process vast amounts of data. Compared to its predecessor HBM3, HBM3E is 1.3 times faster and provides 1.4 times more data capacity. The product also offers a 10% improvement in heat dissipation by adopting cutting-edge Advanced MR-MUF2 technology. SK hynix is set to mass produce HBM3E in the first half of 2024, allowing customers to soon realize the full potential of their AI systems.
1High Bandwidth Memory (HBM): A high-value, high-performance product that possesses much higher data processing speeds compared to existing DRAMs by vertically connecting multiple DRAMs with through-silicon via (TSV).
2Advanced Mass Reflow-Molded Underfill (MR-MUF): MR-MUF is a process in which semiconductor chips are stacked and a liquid protective material is injected into the space between the chips and then hardened to protect the chips and the surrounding circuitry. Advanced MR-MUF offers advantages in terms of controlling the thickness of wafers, evenly splicing chip bumps, and filling spaces between chips.
Figure 4. SK hynix’s groundbreaking AI memory technology on display
Alongside HBM3E, SK hynix also presented its Compute Express Link3 (CXL) interface, a test Computational Memory Solution4 (CMS) product, and its Accelerator-in-Memory based Accelerator5 (AiMX). In particular, CXL has been in the spotlight for its ability to enable memory expansion and improve the performance of AI applications, and is set to play a key role alongside HBM3E in the age of AI.
3Compute Express Link (CXL): A PCIe-based next-generation interconnect protocol on which high-performance computing systems are based.
4Computational Memory Solution (CMS): A product that integrates computational functions into CXL memory.
5Accelerator-in-Memory based Accelerator (AiMX): SK hynix’s accelerator card product that specializes in large language models using GDDR6-AiM chips.
Dealing the AI Tarot Cards of Destiny
Figure 5. Visitors find out their fortunes for 2024 at the AI fortune teller exhibit
The centerpiece of SK hynix’s booth is the AI fortune teller. Inspired by the animatronic fortune telling machines found in U.S. amusement parks, SK hynix’s fortune teller brought the concept into the AI era. The AI fortune teller scans a visitor’s face before printing out a cartomancy tarot card featuring their animated image. The interactive exhibition allows visitors to discover their new year’s fortunes and experience first-hand the potential of AI.
Sharing the Future of AI
Figure 6. SK hynix’s President and CEO Kwak Noh-Jung gives a presentation at the company’s CES 2024 press conference
In addition to showcasing its groundbreaking AI memory products, SK hynix also shared its thoughts on the future of AI. At a press conference held a day before CES 2024 kicked off, SK hynix’s President and CEO Kwak Noh-Jung gave a presentation on the company’s vision for the upcoming memory-centric AGI6 era.
Kwak opened by underlining how the performance and advancement of AI systems is largely reliant on the memory which supports them. As AI technology accelerates the transition to a data-centric age, memory solutions need to offer higher capacity, faster processing, and lower power consumption. SK hynix is responding to this move toward a memory-centric market by continuing to develop world-best products which will cement its industry leadership. These solutions include the upcoming HBM4 and HBM4E which will offer increased bandwidth, as well as LPCAMM7, CXL, and PIM8 and CIM9 products.
6Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): A theoretical form of AI research that aims to create software with human-like intelligence and the ability to self-teach.
7Low Power Compression Attached Memory Module (LPCAMM): A compact memory module standard used in laptops, PCs, and data centers which offers improvements in performance and power efficiency.
8Processing-In-Memory (PIM): A next-generation technology that adds computational capabilities to semiconductor memories to solve the problem of data movement congestion in AI and big data processing.
9Computing-in-Memory (CIM): A memory management solution that aims to improve speed and efficiency by performing computations directly in the memory.
Rounding off his presentation, Kwak announced that the company is developing a new custom memory platform which will harness its AI memory technology and research capabilities to create optimized solutions tailored for each customer’s strengths.
A Trailblazer During the Rise of AI
At CES 2024, SK hynix has cemented its position as the world’s leading AI memory provider. SK hynix’s booth gives visitors a glimpse into the significant possibilities of its industry-leading solutions, and the company will continue to demonstrate how its products can build a brighter future for all over the coming year.
