[News] NVIDIA, Apple Reportedly Court Korean HBM, NAND Talent with Six-Figure Pay Amid AI Memory Boom

As memory plays an ever more pivotal role in AI workloads, major technology firms are reportedly stepping up efforts to recruit South Korean memory experts. According to The Chosun Daily, U.S. companies are conducting targeted hiring campaigns aimed at engineers from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, aiming to narrow the two companies’ long-standing lead in the memory market.

As highlighted in the report, NVIDIA earlier this month listed job openings offering base pay of up to US$258,750 for engineers focused on HBM development. Apple, for its part, advertised a NAND flash product engineer role last month with an annual salary reaching US$305,600.

The report further notes that Taiwan’s MediaTek has also entered the fray, seeking HBM engineers with compensation packages of roughly US$260,000. Qualcomm has likewise begun recruiting 3D DRAM R&D personnel in South Korea.

Google and Broadcom, partners in developing Tensor Processing Units for Google’s AI infrastructure, are likewise expanding their recruitment of HBM talent in Silicon Valley. According to Aju Press, Google is seeking engineers responsible for evaluating HBM performance. Broadcom, meanwhile, is recruiting experts in design-for-test verification spanning HBM, DDR, and high-speed interface technologies.

Notably, Tesla CEO Elon Musk personally amplified Tesla Korea’s recruitment notice for an AI semiconductor designer. The move is seen as consistent with Musk’s proposed “Terafab” vision. As reported by EBN News, Terra Fab is understood to be a vertically integrated chip manufacturing hub combining foundry services, large-scale memory production, and advanced packaging capabilities under one roof.

Meanwhile, memory maker Micron is also stepping up efforts to recruit talent from South Korea. According to Newsis, the company began hiring engineers from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix late last year for positions at its Taichung, Taiwan fab. To secure key HBM specialists, Micron reportedly offered compensation packages exceeding twice their current salaries, along with signing bonuses of about 300 million won.

Record Bonuses as Korea’s Memory Giants Push Back Against Talent Drain

For Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the intensifying talent drain has led to aggressive retention moves. According to Aju Press, SK hynix in early 2026 paid a record performance bonus equal to 2,964 percent of monthly base salary, after allocating 10 percent of its 47.2 trillion won ($32.67 billion) annual operating profit to an employee bonus pool under a revised labor agreement signed in September 2025.

Samsung’s semiconductor division also awarded bonuses of up to 47 percent of annual salary for 2025—its highest payout since the AI-driven memory boom began, the report adds. Still, industry observers cited by Aju Press warn that such measures may not be enough. In Silicon Valley, senior engineers can command base salaries exceeding $300,000, before stock compensation, highlighting the scale of the competitive pressure.

Read more

• [News] Japan Reportedly Offers Half-Cost Fabs and Full Subsidies, Yet Samsung and SK hynix Stay Cautious
• [News] Breaking HBM Barriers: Samsung’s zHBM vs. Intel’s Z-Angle Memory

(Photo credit: Samsung)