Samsung Electronics    (C) Global Economic Times

SEOUL, South Korea – Samsung Electronics has granted a special stock-based incentive to employees who contributed to the development of its 1c (10-nanometer 6th generation) DRAM, which is a core technology for its next-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM4).

According to the semiconductor industry on November 3, Samsung Electronics' board of directors approved a "Disposition of Treasury Shares" measure on October 30 to grant incentives to executives and employees who achieved the development goals for the 1c DRAM project.

Recipients: 30 employees.
Total Incentive Value: Approximately 480 million KRW ($366,000 USD, based on current exchange rates), corresponding to 4,790 shares of common stock.
Share Valuation: The price per share was calculated based on the closing price of October 29 (100,500 KRW per share).
This special compensation highlights Samsung's aggressive push to gain an edge in the competitive HBM market. The company, which had been lagging in the HBM3E (5th generation) race, is striving to leapfrog competitors by utilizing its more advanced 1c nano process for HBM4 development.

Samsung Electronics is currently undergoing performance evaluations with Nvidia for its HBM4 samples incorporating the 1c DRAM. The feedback on these samples is reportedly positive. Furthermore, on October 31, Nvidia publicly stated that "Samsung is a key partner in the Nvidia HBM3E and HBM4 supply chain" while announcing cooperation in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector.