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The Korean media reports that Samsung has secured an HBM3E supply from NVIDIA following the qualification of its 12-Hi variant. This is a significant breakthrough for the company, placing it alongside SK hynix and Micron in NVIDIA’s HBM supply chain.
For those unaware, the ongoing Samsung-NVIDIA HBM saga highlights initial struggles by Samsung to secure a spot in NVIDIA’s supply chain. Reports indicated that Samsung’s HBM3 faced thermal issues due to its DRAM technology. Now, according to KED Global, Samsung has successfully qualified for 12-Hi HBM3E with NVIDIA. This means the Korean giant will now collaborate with SK hynix and Micron in Team Green’s HBM supply chain.
After failing with HBM3, Samsung turned to an 8-layer HBM3E but faced rejection due to using older 1a DRAM “4th-generation” technology, which caused performance and thermal issues. Recently, Samsung revised its DRAM designs and significantly invested in its HBM business to secure this breakthrough with NVIDIA. The report suggests that for Samsung, the supply is more about technological pride than revenue.
Currently, Samsung’s HBM3E orders are limited due to NVIDIA’s reliance on SK hynix and Micron for their needs. However, this breakthrough gives Samsung confidence it can enter the HBM4 segment at similar timelines as competitors. More importantly, Samsung claims to be the first company to achieve 11 Gbps speeds with its HBM4, utilizing 1c DRAM technology and a 4nm logic die from Samsung Foundry. HBM4 supply could expand to AMD, Broadcom, and Google as well.
It appears Samsung’s business might have witnessed an enormous breakthrough, putting it on par with SK hynix and Micron, thus intensifying competition.
