The week of 20 Could 2024 has been fairly eventful for Samsung’s semiconductor unit, the world’s largest producer of reminiscence chips like DRAMs, SRAMs, NAND flash, and NOR flash. Early this week, an sudden change of guard at Samsung’s semiconductor enterprise rocked the business.
When Samsung abruptly changed its semiconductor enterprise chief Kyung Kye-hyun with DRAM and flash reminiscence veteran Jun Younger-hyun, the transition was largely credited to the “chip disaster” related to Samsung being a laggard in excessive bandwidth reminiscence (HBM) enterprise, the place SK hynix has grow to be a market chief.
Determine 1 Jun Younger-hyun led Samsung’s reminiscence chip enterprise from 2014 to 2017 after engaged on the event of DRAM and flash reminiscence chips. Supply: The Chosun Each day
It’s value noting that administration reshuffles at Samsung are normally introduced firstly of the yr. Nonetheless, being seen as a laggard in HBM expertise has pushed the reminiscence kingpin right into a determined place, and the appointment of a brand new chip unit head largely displays that sense of disaster on the world’s largest reminiscence chip provider.
HBM, a personalized reminiscence product, has loved explosive development in synthetic intelligence (AI) functions on account of its suitability for coaching AI fashions like ChatGPT. HBM, the place DRAM chips are vertically stacked to avoid wasting house and cut back energy consumption, helps course of huge quantities of knowledge produced by complicated AI functions.
SK hynix, Samsung’s Korean reminiscence chip rival, produced its first HBM chip in 2013. Since then, it has repeatedly invested in creating this reminiscence expertise whereas bolstering manufacturing yield. Based on media stories, SK hynix’s HBM manufacturing capability is totally booked by way of 2025.
SK hynix can be the primary provider of HBM chips to Nvidia, which instructions practically 80% of the GPU marketplace for AI functions, a premise the place HBM reminiscence chips are strategically paired with AI processors like GPUs to beat information overheads. However, Samsung, at the moment catching up on HBM expertise, is understood to be within the technique of qualifying its HBM reminiscence chips for Nvidia AI processors.
Throughout Nvidia’s annual occasion, GPU Expertise Convention (GTC), held in March 2024 in San Jose, California, the corporate’s co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang endorsed Samsung’s HBM3e chips, then going by way of a verification course of at Nvidia, with a notice “Jensen Accepted” subsequent to Samsung’s 12-layer HBM3e gadget on show at GTS 2024 flooring.
HBM check at Nvidia
Whereas the beginning of the week surprised the business with an uncommon reshuffle on the prime, the tip of the week got here with an even bigger shock. Based on a report printed in Reuters on Friday, twenty fourth Could, Samsung’s HBM chips didn’t cross Nvidia’s check for pairing with its GPUs on account of warmth and energy consumption points.
In one other report printed in The Chosun Each day that day, Professor Kwon Seok-joon of the Division of Chemical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan College stated that Samsung has not been in a position to totally handle high quality management of through-silicon vias (TSVs) for packaging HBM reminiscence chips. In different phrases, excessive yield in packaging a number of DRAM layers has been difficult. One other insider pointed to stories that the ability consumption of Samsung’s HBM3E samples is greater than double that of SK hynix.
Determine 2 Based on the article printed in Reuters, a check for Samsung’s 8-layer and 12-layer HBM3e reminiscence chips failed in April 2024. Supply: Samsung Electronics
Whereas Nvidia declined to touch upon this story, Samsung was fast to state that the scenario has not been concluded, and that testing continues to be ongoing. The South Korean reminiscence chipmaker added that HBM, a specialised reminiscence product, requires optimization by way of shut collaboration with prospects. Jeff Kim, head of analysis at KB Securities, quoted within the Reuters story, acknowledged that whereas Samsung anticipated to shortly cross Nvidia’s assessments, a specialised product like HBM may take a while to undergo prospects’ efficiency evaluations.
Nonetheless, it’s a setback for Samsung that would go to benefit of SK hynix and Micron, the remaining gamers within the high-stake HBM recreation. Micron, which claims that its HBM3e consumes 30% much less energy than its opponents, has introduced that its 24-GB, 8-layer HBM3e reminiscence chips might be a part of Nvidia’s H200 Tensor Core GPUs, breaking the earlier exclusivity of SK hynix as the only real HBM provider for Nvidia’s AI processors.
A impolite awakening?
Samsung, being a laggard in HBM, received’t be the one fear for the upcoming chief Jun. Regardless of the restoration in reminiscence costs, Samsung’s semiconductor enterprise is lagging in competitiveness on varied fronts. Based on one other Reuters report, Samsung’s high-density DRAMs and NAND flash merchandise are now not forward of the competitors.
Subsequent, the Korean tech heavyweight’s foundry operation is struggling to meet up with market chief TSMC. Samsung’s chip contract-manufacturing enterprise has struggled to win huge prospects, whereas TSMC continues to be far forward when it comes to general market share. Then there’s the worldwide AI wave through which Samsung is at the moment struggling to search out its place moreover its HBM woes.
Samsung is understood for its fierce aggressive expertise, and the appointment of the brand new chief of its semiconductor unit indicators that it means enterprise. The Korean tech large is going through an uphill battle in catching up in HBM reminiscence expertise, however one factor is for positive: Samsung is not any stranger to charting sizzling waters.
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- AI increase and the politics of HBM reminiscence chips
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- HBM reminiscence chips: The unsung hero of the AI revolution
- Generative AI and reminiscence wall: A wakeup name for IC business
- A sneak peek at HBM chilly warfare between Samsung and SK hynix
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The put up Samsung’s reminiscence chip enterprise: Hassle in paradise? appeared first on EDN.