Key insights
- Samsung and AMD are expanding their partnership in AI memory chips, with Samsung supplying HBM4 for AMD's next-gen AI accelerators. They are also exploring a foundry partnership. This news follows Nvidia's announcement of a foundry partnership with Samsung. This strengthens Samsung's position in the AI chip supply chain and could positively impact AMD's ability to compete in the AI accelerator market. The US market impact is moderately bullish for both AMD and the broader AI sector.
Investing.com -- Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) on Wednesday announced a memorandum of understanding with Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) to deepen their collaboration on memory chip supplies for AI infrastructure. The companies also said they are exploring a potential foundry partnership.
The agreement centers on supplying Samsung’s next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) for AMD’s upcoming Instinct MI455X AI accelerators, alongside optimized DDR5 memory for AMD’s sixth-generation EPYC processors, codenamed “Venice," the companies said.
These components are intended to support next-generation AI systems combining AMD Instinct GPUs, EPYC CPUs and rack-scale architectures such as the Helios platform.
“Samsung and AMD share a commitment to advancing AI computing, and this agreement reflects the growing scope of our collaboration,” said Young Hyun Jun, Vice Chairman & CEO of Samsung Electronics.
Samsung will position itself as a key supplier of HBM4 for AMD’s next-generation AI GPUs under the deal. The South Korean group is already a primary supplier of high-bandwidth memory to AMD, providing HBM3E chips used in the MI350X and MI355X accelerators.
The companies will also explore potential foundry cooperation, under which Samsung could manufacture future AMD chips as a contract supplier.
The announcement comes a day after Nvidia disclosed a foundry partnership with Samsung. At its annual GTC developer conference held this week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Samsung is producing its latest AI chips, with the company also showcasing processors built using its 4-nanometer technology.
Samsung shares jumped more than 7% on the news.
Earlier this week, Samsung co-CEO said the company is working with major customers to move toward multi-year contracts lasting three to five years, aiming to cushion against potential swings in demand.
Speaking at the annual shareholder meeting in Suwon, Co-CEO Jun Young-hyun said the chip industry is entering an “unprecedented supercycle” driven by rising investment in AI data centres, adding that Samsung must prepare for “various scenarios”.