"Review of HBM3E 8-Stack and 12-Stack Delivery"
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, the leading company in artificial intelligence, has been revealed to be working to approve Samsung Electronics' AI memory chip supply as quickly as possible, drawing attention to whether Samsung Electronics can ride the AI semiconductor rally and improve its performance.
According to Bloomberg on the 23rd (local time), Huang said in an interview with Bloomberg TV at the honorary doctorate degree ceremony at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, "We are working as fast as possible to approve Samsung Electronics' AI memory chip supply," and mentioned that they are considering receiving both 8-stack and 12-stack versions of the 5th generation HBM, HBM3E, from Samsung Electronics.
HBM is a high value-added, high-performance product that vertically connects multiple DRAMs to dramatically increase data processing speed compared to conventional DRAM. It has been developed in the order of 1st generation (HBM) - 2nd generation (HBM2) - 3rd generation (HBM2E) - 4th generation (HBM3) - 5th generation (HBM3E).
Earlier, Samsung Electronics announced during its Q3 earnings conference call on the 31st of last month that "both 8-stack and 12-stack HBM3E are currently in mass production and sales," and "meaningful progress has been made by completing important stages in the quality testing process with major customers, and sales expansion is expected in Q4." As Nvidia's final approval of Samsung Electronics' HBM3E products enters the countdown phase, the industry expects full-scale supply to begin soon.
However, Bloomberg pointed out that Huang did not mention Samsung Electronics during the recent Q3 (August to October) earnings conference call, although he referred to memory suppliers such as SK Hynix and Micron. Earlier in March, Huang visited Samsung Electronics' booth and left a handwritten signature with the phrase 'JENSEN APPROVED' on the displayed HBM3E product, raising expectations for Samsung's HBM. However, delays in passing quality tests later disappointed the market.
Nvidia, a major player in the AI market, receives most of its HBM supply from SK Hynix. SK Hynix has virtually monopolized the supply of the 4th generation HBM, HBM3, and in March, it became the first in the industry to start supplying the 8-stack HBM3E. With the launch of Nvidia's Blackwell, the AI alliance between SK Hynix and Nvidia appears to be strengthening further.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won stated at the 'SK AI Summit' held on the 4th, "Nvidia demands more HBM from SK Hynix every time a new graphics processing unit (GPU) is released," and added, "When I met with Jensen Huang last time, he asked to advance the supply of HBM4 by six months, and we agreed to do so." According to market research firm TrendForce, last year’s HBM market share was led by SK Hynix (53%), followed by Samsung Electronics (38%) and US-based Micron (9%).
Industry experts evaluate that Samsung Electronics must supply HBM to Nvidia to join the AI semiconductor rally, and Nvidia also needs Samsung's HBM supply considering price negotiation power and supply-demand factors. Samsung Electronics is putting all its efforts into securing leadership in HBM by establishing an HBM development team to focus on next-generation HBM technology development. It is also preparing improved HBM3E products tailored to major customers' next-generation GPU projects.
During the Q3 earnings conference call, Samsung Electronics revealed, "We will expand supply of existing HBM3E products for projects already entered, and sell improved products for new projects to increase the scope of demand response," and "We are currently coordinating schedules with customers to mass-produce these products by the first half of next year." Development of the 6th generation HBM4 is underway, targeting mass production in the second half of next year, and the possibility of collaboration with TSMC, the leading foundry in semiconductor contract manufacturing, is also open for commercialization of customized HBM.
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