Samsung partners with TSMC for NVIDIA's next-gen chips
What's the story
Samsung is going to use Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)'s 3nm process to manufacture base dies for NVIDIA's next-generation custom high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. According to a report by the Seoul Economic Daily, this would be the first time Samsung has partnered with the Taiwanese contract chipmaker at the HBM manufacturing stage.
Production strategy
NVHBM chips to integrate custom memory controller into base die
NVIDIA has reportedly asked Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology to use TSMC's process for the base dies of its NVHBM chips.
The request also includes sixth-generation DRAM technology for memory dies.
The NVHBM technology, unveiled in August, integrates NVIDIA's custom memory controller into the base die. It aims to standardize implementation across multiple memory suppliers.
Production model
Samsung will stick to in-house production model for standard HBM
Samsung has reportedly accepted NVIDIA's requirements after an internal review.
However, the South Korean tech giant intends to stick with its in-house production model for standard HBM and custom products made for other customers.
The company is also exploring if its own foundry could produce NVHBM base dies if demand exceeds TSMC's capacity.
Industry impact
TSMC's advanced chipmaking capacity constraints could threaten technology companies
TSMC manufactures most of the world's most advanced semiconductors, including processors for NVIDIA, AMD, and Broadcom.
It also makes custom AI accelerators for tech giants like Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and OpenAI.
The demand for its advanced chipmaking capacity has surged amid the AI boom.
However, industry executives have warned that capacity constraints could threaten technology companies' ambitious AI infrastructure investments and revenue growth targets as demand for computing power continues to rise.