Samsung Focuses on HBM4... Icebreaker to Overcome Semiconductor Business Winter

Expansion of 6th Gen HBM Development Team
Vice Chairman Jeon Young-hyun Leads New Organization
Accelerating Development to Secure Market Lead
Maintaining Mass Production Target for H2 Next Year
Embracing Market Upcycle
Flexible Changes Through Workforce Reallocation

Samsung Electronics has decided to focus its efforts on the 6th generation HBM4 instead of the 5th generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which it failed to preempt. After losing the lead in HBM to SK Hynix, Samsung has been strengthening its competitiveness by starting early development of HBM4, and analysts say the time has come for it to demonstrate its potential.

According to industry sources on the 14th, Samsung Electronics has recently expanded the size of its HBM development team. As a self-help measure to overcome the crisis looming over its semiconductor business, the company is considering reallocating personnel within the Device Solutions (DS) division, focusing on strengthening the organization by expanding the HBM workforce.

The HBM development team was newly established two months after Jeong-yeong Hyun, Vice Chairman and head of the DS division, took office in May. The team leader is Vice President Young-soo Son, who is regarded as an expert in DRAM product development. The main mission of the development team is to preempt the HBM4 market. It is reported that Samsung Electronics has been accelerating development efforts since the third quarter, when its semiconductor division fell into crisis. Despite ongoing personnel adjustments and organizational restructuring, Samsung plans to maintain its goal of mass-producing HBM4 in the second half of next year without revising the development roadmap.

Industry insiders analyze this policy by saying, "Because the semiconductor market is still in an upward cycle, Samsung Electronics was able to quickly determine its response direction." They evaluate that if the market had been in a downturn, Samsung's winter would have been even harsher. Currently, as the memory semiconductor market shows signs of continued prosperity centered on HBM, Samsung is seeking flexible changes at the level of personnel reallocation rather than abruptly changing its business course.

First, the forecasted rise in HBM prices is considered a major factor accelerating Samsung Electronics' HBM4 development. According to Taiwanese market research firm TrendForce, HBM prices in the fourth quarter of this year are expected to rise by 8-13% compared to the previous quarter. This is due to increased investments in artificial intelligence (AI) by global big tech companies and the growing demand for AI chips.

Additionally, AMD’s newly unveiled AI chip ‘MI325X’ on the 13th is expected to have a positive impact on Samsung Electronics. AMD’s MI325X is set to directly compete with competitor Nvidia’s latest AI chip, Blackwell H200, and is known to have 1.8 times larger memory capacity and 1.3 times wider bandwidth. If Nvidia’s monopoly is broken and market competition intensifies, the supply of HBM required for AI chips is also likely to increase.

At the ‘Samsung Foundry Forum’ held in July, Samsung Electronics announced a roadmap to introduce ‘Copper to Copper Bonding’ technology in HBM4. This technology is a hybrid method that directly connects copper wiring in semiconductor chips. It uses an oxide film that acts as an insulator. It replaces the existing thermal compression non-conductive adhesive film (TC-NCF) method, offering advantages such as thinner chip thickness, reduced electrical resistance, and lower heat generation.

HBM4 will be offered in various packaging forms tailored to each customer’s requirements, and the foundry division is preparing to respond accordingly. In particular, production of logic dies has been underway since the end of last year. This is a key component that determines HBM performance. The logic die is located at the bottom of the DRAM stack in HBM and serves to connect electrical signals. Samsung Electronics plans to differentiate itself by producing customized logic dies for customers starting with HBM4. An industry insider said, "There is a view that Samsung Electronics will eventually catch up with SK Hynix, the current No. 1 in HBM," adding, "There is a possibility that the landscape will change with HBM4."