According to industry sources on Thursday, Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest memory chip manufacturer, has established a dedicated unit tasked with developing high bandwidth memory (HBM) in an effort to regain its dominance in the cutthroat artificial intelligence semiconductor market.
Insiders familiar with the matter claim that the newly formed HBM development team is a part of a strategic reorganization within Samsung’s semiconductor division, aimed at streamlining R&D efforts and consolidating expertise. Leading this effort is Vice President Sohn Young-soo, a seasoned professional well-known for his contributions to high-performance DRAM design.
Since Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun took office in late May, this organizational overhaul represents the first significant reorganization. Accelerating research and development for next-generation HBM technologies, including HBM4, along with continuing projects involving HBM3 and HBM3E, will be the main goal of the HBM team.
With regard to HBM, a high-performance DRAM type that is in high demand, especially within Nvidia’s graphics processing units, which are essential for AI computing tasks, Samsung’s action highlights the company’s proactive approach to strengthening its research capabilities. Remarkably, Samsung has previously created state-of-the-art 12-layer HBM3E products that are presently going through demanding quality testing by Nvidia.
Samsung may have made strides, but with its most recent HBM3E offerings, rival SK Hynix Inc. has remained at the top of the market. Restructuring its equipment technology lab and advanced packaging team has also helped Samsung maintain a competitive edge by improving its overall technological capabilities.
Samsung has been making major operating losses amounting to over 15 trillion won (US$11 billion) in the previous fiscal year alone. These strategic changes are part of the company’s larger efforts to revive its semiconductor business, which has faced difficulties in recent years. During the latter part of 2022 and the first five months of 2023, the company experienced operating losses.
However, encouraging signs of recovery surfaced in the first quarter of 2024, as rising memory chip prices helped Samsung’s chip business bounce back to achieve an operating profit of 1.91 trillion won on sales of 23.1 trillion won.
On Friday, Samsung Electronics is scheduled to release its second-quarter earnings guidance, providing information about the company’s financial performance in light of ongoing market dynamics and strategic realignments.
By establishing the HBM development team, Samsung has reaffirmed its commitment to innovation and competitiveness in the global tech landscape, and taken a significant step towards regaining leadership in the semiconductor market, as it continues to invest in cutting-edge semiconductor technologies and talent acquisition.
