'SK AI Summit 2024' at Seoul COEX
Jensen Huang personally requested... Kwak Nojeong "I will try"
Choi "Collaboration with companies and leaders needed for AI"
Video messages from NVIDIA, MS, TSMC CEOs
Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, revealed that NVIDIA, a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) chips, requested SK Hynix to advance the supply of the 6th generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), HBM4, ahead of the original plan, and that SK Hynix is making efforts to comply with this request.
At the SK AI Summit, which opened on the 4th at COEX in Seoul, SK Chairman Chey Tae-won is delivering the opening speech. Photo by Heo Young-han
In his keynote speech at the 'SK AI Summit 2024' held on the 4th at the COEX Auditorium in Samseong-dong, Seoul, Chairman Choi said, "Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, emphasizes 'ppalli-ppalli' (hurry hurry) as if he were Korean," adding, "When I recently met him, he asked to advance the HBM4 supply schedule by six months. When I asked Kwak No-jung, CEO of SK Hynix, if this was possible, he said, 'We will try.'"
SK Hynix recently set a policy to mass-produce HBM4 in the second half of next year and supply it to customers such as NVIDIA. Chairman Choi confirmed that this was in response to NVIDIA's request to advance the schedule by six months. NVIDIA has maintained a close cooperative relationship by frequently using SK Hynix's HBM products, such as the 5th generation HBM3E, when manufacturing AI chips. Recently, the demand for the next-generation AI chip 'Blackwell' has exceeded expectations in the market, requiring an increase in supply volume. Accordingly, it is interpreted that CEO Huang requested SK Hynix to advance the supply of HBM4.
Chairman Choi emphasized, "Thanks to CEO Huang's leadership, NVIDIA has become a global company leading the AI era," adding, "I believe CEO Huang's 'speedy spirit' and the role of partners were crucial. NVIDIA does not make chips alone. Accelerated packaging is done by TSMC. TSMC possesses innate process technology and operates the world's best foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing). They work closely together, encouraging each other to produce chips for the advancement of AI worldwide."
In his keynote speech, Chairman Choi highlighted the importance of cooperation with AI leaders such as NVIDIA and TSMC. CEO Huang and Professor David Patterson of UC Berkeley emphasized the future of AI and cooperation with SK Hynix through a video dialogue, while Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft (MS), and Wei Zhejia, CEO of TSMC, also delivered video messages regarding the partnership between the companies.
Chairman Choi stated, "The future of AI requires the cooperation of many people," and added, "SK is engaged in extensive collaborative discussions with NVIDIA, MS, TSMC, and OpenAI." He further noted that since there is still much unknown about AI and to positively lead changes through AI, cooperation among companies and leaders from various fields is essential. He also provided specific details about SK's current collaborations with global big tech companies.
At the SK AI Summit, which opened on the 4th at COEX in Seoul, SK Chairman Chey Tae-won is delivering the opening speech. Photo by Heo Young-han
Chairman Choi said, "MS is an important customer of SK Hynix's HBM and a partner with whom we are discussing collaboration related to AI data centers and energy solutions," adding, "To achieve carbon neutrality and data center expansion goals, MS and SK have jointly invested in nuclear energy companies." Regarding TSMC, he explained, "No matter how good a chip design is, it is meaningless if it cannot be actually manufactured," and said, "SK is working closely with TSMC alongside NVIDIA to resolve the global shortage of AI chips." He added, "TSMC is an ideal partner," and "SK Hynix is leading AI innovation through three-way cooperation with NVIDIA and TSMC."
The SK AI Summit is an event held annually at the SK Group level, and this year it was expanded into a large-scale global event under the slogan 'AI Together, AI Tomorrow.'
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