According to industry sources on Nov. 13, South Korean memory semiconductor manufacturers are focusing on the preemptive development of memory to support the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This is expected to lead to the creation of AI semiconductors that are not only capable of data storage but also computing operations, following HBM3 and HBM3E.
Previously, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix had mentioned memory technologies such as Processing-in-Memory (PIM) and Compute Express Link (CXL). PIM is an intelligent semiconductor that integrates computing and memory (storage) functions, while CXL refers to a technology that connects memory to the existing CPU to expand data transmission bandwidth and capacity.
With memory semiconductors becoming essential in advanced technologies like mobile, big data, cloud, and AI, these companies aim to meet the growing demand for data processing.
On Nov. 2, Kwak No-jung, president of SK hynix, delivered a special lecture on the topic of “The Vision and Talent Cultivation of Memory Semiconductors” at the Korea University campus in the Seongbuk district of Seoul. He stated, “SK hynix will create a differentiated specialty product, ‘Signature Memory’.”
The companies are also pursuing the development of emerging memories based on PIM and CXL technologies, which could be the second and third generations of HBM, considering the high likelihood of memory semiconductors becoming key in future computing environments.
Lee Jung-bae, president of Samsung Electronics’ Memory Business, also revealed in a contributed article titled “Samsung’s Memory Innovation Opens Unlimited Possibilities” published last month in Samsung Electronics’ Semiconductor Newsroom, their plans to apply PIM and PNM technologies to products like HBM and CNM. He added that they would focus on “dramatically improving data processing capabilities while increasing power efficiency.” Samsung Electronics announced in May that it had developed the industry’s first CXL DRAM supporting CXL 2.0.
An industry insider commented, “With the incorporation of a ‘brain’ that processes computing in memory, it becomes possible to replace Central Processing Units (CPUs) and even gain independence from Intel.” There was also an analysis suggesting that last year’s delay in Intel’s new server CPU launch had negative impacts such as delaying the adoption of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix’s DDR5 DRAM.