A regulatory filing disclosed on Wednesday revealed that SK Hynix has placed an order for new High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) production equipment from Hanmi Semiconductor, a move potentially signaling preparations for manufacturing the next-generation HBM4 product. Hanmi Semiconductor stated in its regulatory filing that it plans to supply thermal compression (TC) bonders valued at 9.7 billion won (approximately $6.5 million) to SK Hynix by April, though it provided no further details. TC bonders are core equipment used to stack multiple Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM) chips for HBM production. Given that a single TC bonder typically costs around 3 billion won, industry observers suggest the contract likely covers three units. Industry insiders predict the TC bonders procured by SK Hynix are likely intended for producing the next-generation HBM4 product. As demand from the artificial intelligence (AI) sector surges dramatically, SK Hynix is accelerating the expansion of its HBM production capacity, preparing for the full-scale commercialization of HBM4 at its Cheongju production base located 110 kilometers south of Seoul. Earlier this month, SK Hynix stated it aims to maintain its leadership in the HBM3E segment while proactively building the HBM4 ecosystem to secure a dominant position in the memory market by 2026.