Samsung inks an AI chip-related deal with AMD
What's the story
Samsung Electronics and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen their strategic alliance. The deal is focused on supplying next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) from Samsung for AMD's upcoming Instinct MI455X AI accelerators. It also includes optimized DDR5 memory for AMD's sixth-generation EPYC processors. The partnership comes at a time when the semiconductor industry is witnessing an AI-driven demand surge, leading to tighter supply of HBM chips.
Supplier role
Major HBM supplier for AMD's next-gen AI GPUs
As part of the deal, Samsung will become a major HBM4 supplier for AMD's next-gen AI GPUs. The South Korean tech giant has already been a major HBM supplier for AMD, providing HBM3E chips used in MI350X and MI355X accelerators. This agreement further cements their partnership in the rapidly evolving semiconductor industry.
Future prospects
Potential foundry partnership on the horizon
The MoU also opens discussions for a potential foundry partnership, where Samsung could offer contract chip manufacturing services for next-generation AMD products. This comes just days after NVIDIA announced a similar foundry partnership with Samsung at its annual developer conference GTC.
Market competition
Samsung aims to boost its HBM market share
Samsung, the world's biggest memory chipmaker, is working hard to catch up with its competitors in the rapidly growing HBM segment. The company currently has a 22% share of the global HBM market, far behind leader SK Hynix which holds 57%, according to Counterpoint. The new partnership with AMD could help Samsung strengthen its position in this competitive space.