On May 21, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) has replaced the chief of its semiconductor division in a bid to overcome a "chip crisis", amid a booming market for AI chips where the world's biggest memory chipmaker has lagged peers.

The South Korean manufacturer on Tuesday said it has appointed Young Hyun Jun effective immediately, shifting him from the role as head of its future business planning unit.

The move is likely aimed at catching up in the market for top-end chips used in artificial intelligence such as high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, an area where Samsung has fallen behind rivals such as SK Hynix (000660.KS).

"This is a preemptive measure to strengthen future competitiveness by renewing the atmosphere internally and externally," Samsung said in a statement.

Samsung's market share in DRAM chips used in tech devices reached 45.5% in the fourth quarter last year, according to data provider TrendForce. It lags, however, in the niche but increasingly important HBM chips segment where SK Hynix controls more than 90% of the mainstream HBM3 market.

HBM3 is a fourth-generation HBM standard currently the most used for AI chipsets like those made by industry leader Nvidia (NVDA.O). Nvidia is reportedly considering Samsung as a supplier too.

Jun, 63, had led Samsung's memory chip business from 2014 to 2017 after working on the development of DRAM and flash memory chips. He was also the CEO of battery arm Samsung SDI (006400.KS), opens new tab from 2017 to 2022, overseeing a U.S. electric vehicle battery joint venture with automaker Stellantis (STLAM.MI).

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Editor：Vicky

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