For Production of 7 nm GPUs

NVIDIA, the global leader in graphics processing unit (GPU) technologies, is reportedly looking to Samsung Electronics for production of 7 nm GPUs, which will be launched next year.

NVIDIA, the global leader in graphics processing unit (GPU) technologies, is reportedly planning to commission Samsung Electronics to produce 7 nm GPU, which will be launched next year.

Foreign industry media outlets reported on Jan. 18 that NVIDIA is preparing to launch a new GPU next year based on the 7 nanometer (nm) extreme ultraviolet (EUV) process of the Samsung Electronics foundry division. NVIDIA’s biggest competitor AMD has unveiled the world’s first 7 nm process-based GPU, which prompted NVIDIA to make an aggressive move towards launching EUV-based new products.

Right now, NVIDIA utilizes the TSMC’s 12 nm process for manufacturing of GPUs based on the Turing architecture, such as GeForce RTX. If Samsung wins the OEM contract from NVIDIA, it will be Samsung’s second big contract following IBM’s central processing unit (CPU) production order, which was awarded at the end of last year.

Analysists see such contracts would be meaningful to Samsung, which has been seeking to expand the non-memory business as a new chicken game has started in the global memory semiconductor industry.

Market information provider IHS Markit previously reported that Samsung Electronics placed second in the world foundry market with a mere 6.7 percent share. However, IC Insights predicted in a report released last year that "Samsung Electronics will take second place in the foundry market with a market share of 14.5 percent in 2018."

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