Lee Jae-yong Wraps Up US Business Trip... Personally Oversees Semiconductors (Comprehensive)

Wrapping Up Approximately Two Weeks of Business Trip in the US
Focusing on Core AI and Semiconductor Opportunities
CEO Meetings with Meta, Amazon, Qualcomm, and Others

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong continued his long-term business trip in the United States this year, following last year. During the approximately two-week schedule, he leveraged his global network capabilities to travel across the U.S. to directly seek semiconductor business opportunities. Notably, this trip drew attention for discussions on cooperation not only with major big tech companies such as Meta and Amazon but also with Qualcomm and local fabless (semiconductor design) companies, focusing on achievements in the AI-related semiconductor sector. There is also keen interest in whether additional foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) orders will be announced.

Meetings with CEOs of Major Companies Including Meta, Amazon, and Qualcomm

Chairman Lee departed on the 31st of last month immediately after the Samsung Ho-Am Prize award ceremony and conducted a business trip covering the East Coast, including New York and Washington D.C., as well as Silicon Valley on the West Coast. With new technologies and services emerging rapidly, causing the global market capitalization leader to change annually, he spent about two busy weeks assessing Samsung’s global status and future technological competitiveness.

On the 10th (local time), Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, is seen taking a commemorative photo with Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm, at Samsung Electronics DSA in San Jose, USA. / Photo by Samsung Electronics

On the 4th (local time), Chairman Lee met Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon, in New York, and on the 11th, he held a meeting at the residence of Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, located on the U.S. West Coast, agreeing to expand cooperation in the AI field. Zuckerberg had previously met Chairman Lee in February during his visit to Korea at Samsung’s guesthouse, Seungjiwon, upon Lee’s invitation. At that time, Zuckerberg stated, "Samsung is a major foundry company and holds an important position in the global economy," adding, "It is a key point in cooperation with Samsung."

On the 12th, Chairman Lee visited Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle and met with Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon. Present at the meeting were Jeon Young-hyun, head of Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor business (DS Division), Lee Jung-bae, head of the Memory Business Division, Han Jin-man, Vice President of DSA, and Choi Kyung-sik, President of North America. Amazon is the world’s number one cloud service provider and a key business partner in the semiconductor sector, including next-generation memory. Chairman Lee shared market outlooks related to core businesses such as generative AI and cloud computing with CEO Jassy and discussed further cooperation.

Earlier, on the 10th, Chairman Lee met with Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm, at Samsung Electronics DSA in San Jose, USA. They discussed cooperation plans in the future semiconductor market, including AI semiconductors and next-generation communication chips. Although the two companies compete in the mobile application processor (AP) sector, they have maintained a long-standing cooperative relationship across their overall businesses. At an event in Taiwan this month, Amon expressed interest in Samsung’s foundry by stating, "We are considering dual production with TSMC and Samsung Electronics."

On the 11th (local time), Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong is seen taking a commemorative photo at the home of Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, located in Palo Alto, West Coast of the United States. / Photo by Samsung Electronics

During this trip, Chairman Lee also met consecutively with global fabless (semiconductor design specialized) companies. The U.S. is home to major companies such as NVIDIA and AMD, as well as various AI semiconductor startups. Since having these companies as clients is essential for expanding the foundry business, it appears Chairman Lee personally sought them out during his trip.

Samsung Electronics plans to concretize the outcomes of this trip through a 'Global Strategy Meeting' at the end of this month, attended by key executives from the set and component (semiconductor) divisions and heads of overseas subsidiaries. Upon concluding his trip, Chairman Lee urged, "Let’s pioneer the future in a Samsung way by leveraging Samsung’s strengths."

Focus on AI and Semiconductor Achievements... Strengthening Foundry Competitiveness

Since his inauguration, Chairman Lee has visited the U.S., a major hub for future industries, for two consecutive years, utilizing his strength in global networking to grow the business. Last year, during a 22-day long business trip to the U.S., he met with over 20 CEOs of global companies in various sectors such as AI, bio, and next-generation mobility to concretize business cooperation.

The scene at the 'Samsung Foundry Forum 2024' held in Silicon Valley, USA, on the 12th (local time) / Photo provided by Samsung Electronics

In the past three years alone, Chairman Lee has met with companies including Moderna, Verizon, Intel, Tesla, NVIDIA, Biogen, Zeiss, and ASML. He has been actively engaging with leading global companies, discussing not only specific business cooperation but also future business directions. He has also frequently met with AI scholars and CEOs of related companies to monitor AI technology and industry development trends.

The business community and semiconductor industry are paying close attention to whether Samsung Electronics will achieve additional results in AI and semiconductor fields through this trip. Under Chairman Lee’s recent support, Samsung has secured competitiveness in AI, releasing products applying AI across all IT sectors including semiconductors, smartphones, and home appliances, thereby expanding its base. In a virtual speech at the AI Seoul Summit last month, Chairman Lee expressed his ambition, stating, "Through Samsung’s technology and products, we will enable all companies, society, and ultimately all humanity to benefit from AI."

In the semiconductor sector, industry attention is growing regarding achievements in memory and foundry businesses. Samsung Electronics is focusing on expanding the scope of its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) business, which is AI memory. In particular, it is conducting quality tests with NVIDIA, a major player in the HBM market, for its latest HBM product (HBM3E).

Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus line view / Photo by Samsung Electronics

In the foundry sector, Samsung is aiming for orders of AI semiconductors and AI-related products. Previously, Samsung succeeded in securing orders for products from AI semiconductor startups Groq and Tenstorrent, demonstrating growth potential in this field. The company’s goal is to expand its presence in this sector by enhancing advanced process technology and differentiation.

On the 12th (local time), Samsung held the 'Foundry Forum 2024' in Silicon Valley, unveiling its foundry business vision. Samsung announced that its plan for mass production of 1.4 nm (1 nm = one billionth of a meter) technology in 2027 is progressing smoothly and pledged to enhance its core competitiveness with gate-all-around (GAA) technology. It also previewed new innovations, including the introduction of backside power delivery network (BSPDN) technology in the 2 nm process in 2027. BSPDN is a technology that places current wiring layers on the wafer’s backside to improve bottlenecks in power and signal lines.