Samsung Electronics, which lost its lead to SK hynix in the high bandwidth memory (HBM) market, which is becoming known as the AI semiconductor market, has drawn its sword for a counterattack.
The company plans to shake up the AI semiconductor market by launching a new concept of "AI accelerator" (a semiconductor package specialized for AI learning and inference) that does not require HBM in the early next year. Samsung Electronics also decided to employ a two-track strategy to boost its HBM competitiveness, including securing supplies to Nvidia, a major player in the HBM market.
Kyung Kye-hyun, head of Samsung Electronics’ Device Solutions (DS) division, announced at the shareholders’ meeting held at the Suwon Convention Center on March 20, “We will regain the world’s No. 1 semiconductor position within 2 to 3 years,” outlining this plan. Last year, Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor division’s sales were US$45.9 billion, trailing behind TSMC (US$66.8 billion), Intel (US$51.4 billion), and Nvidia (US$49.5 billion).
President Kyung acknowledged the performance downturn last year, stating, “There was a downturn in the industry, but we also had shortcomings in our business operations. This year, we will recover our fundamental competitiveness and build a business structure less affected by market fluctuations.”
Samsung Electronics announced its plan to launch a series of market-leading new products to regain the top spot. A representative example is Mach 1, which will compete against Nvidia’s H100 AI accelerator. President Kyung said, “You will be able to meet Mach 1 early next year. By 2030, we plan to continue releasing advanced products by investing 20 trillion won in the Gyeonggi Giheung research and development (R&D) complex.”
The company plans to strengthen its R&D to improve the competitiveness of its memory semiconductors. It will invest 20 trillion won in the Gyeonggi Yongin R&D complex by 2030 and double the size of its semiconductor research institute. Through this, it plans to launch a series of products including 6th generation 10-nanometer DRAM, 9th generation V-NAND flash, and 6th generation HBM (HBM4).
The foundry division will start mass production of the tentatively named Exynos 2500 smartphone application processor using a 3nm process. The company also plans to enhance its technological capabilities in automotive semiconductors and dedicated RF chip processes.
As new businesses, it introduced advanced packaging, next-generation power semiconductors, and micro light-emitting diode (LED) technology for augmented reality (AR) glasses. President Kyung stated, “The advanced packaging business is expected to generate over US$100 million in sales this year with 2.5D products. We are actively developing next-generation power semiconductors like silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), and micro LED technology for AR glasses, planning to enter the market by 2027.”
The likelihood of supplying HBM to Nvidia has also increased. Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, responded to the question, “Are you using Samsung’s HBM?” by saying, “We are currently testing it, and we have high expectations.” He praised, “Korea’s HBM technology is amazing,” and described it as “an incredible technological achievement.”
Following the business strategy announcement and the potential cooperation with Nvidia, Samsung Electronics’ stock price finished up 5.63% at 76,900 won (US$58.03).