[CES 2024] Samsung Electronics "New Business Combining Memory and Foundry for Customized Customer Solutions"

Hanjinman Semiconductor Americas Vice President
"Confident to Become a Leader in the Generative AI Era"

Samsung Electronics' semiconductor head for the Americas stated, "With the rising demand for memory used in AI accelerators such as High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), a new business combining foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) is emerging," adding, "Discussions on new memory architectures have officially begun accordingly."

On the 11th (local time), Han Jin-man, Vice President of Samsung Electronics' DS Division for the Americas, met with reporters at the Encore Hotel in Las Vegas, USA, and said, "Leading GPU and CPU companies like NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel in the US are releasing new accelerators every year." He explained, "To maximize accelerator performance, memory performance must be supported," and "Discussions on the importance of memory architecture and the need for new memory architectures have started."

Samsung Electronics DS Division Americas Head (DSA), Vice President Han Jin-man, is answering questions from reporters on the 11th (local time) at the Encore Hotel in Las Vegas, USA.
[Photo by Samsung Electronics]

Vice President Han's remarks came from the process of using foundry processes in the recent manufacturing of HBM to provide customized products for customers, discussing a completely different approach from existing memory with client companies. Unlike in the past, this means that memory semiconductors will also be produced in a customized manner going forward.

Han said, "Only Samsung Electronics can bring memory and foundry decision-makers to the same table to purchase solutions," emphasizing, "Although the impact may not be felt immediately, I am confident that in 2 to 3 years, Samsung Electronics will become a strong player in the generative AI era through foundry and memory convergence." He added, "Not only HBM and Low Power Double Data Rate (LPDDR) DRAM or Compute Express Link (CXL), but also various forms of (memory) ideas currently in early discussions with customers are expected to materialize and the related market will blossom within 2 to 3 years."

Samsung Electronics expects HBM demand to rapidly increase this year as well due to AI effects, following last year. The company has announced plans to increase HBM capital expenditure (CAPEX) by more than 2.5 times compared to last year. As AI is used comprehensively, the importance of memory is rising with increased demand not only for HBM but also for various products such as CXL.

Exterior view of the Samsung Electronics DS Division semiconductor exhibition hall at CES 2024 held in Las Vegas, USA [Photo by Samsung Electronics]

Regarding the semiconductor market outlook for this year, he predicted, "Assuming no unexpected global events, a market rebound seems certain." Han explained, "There are rebound signals from the Chinese market, and the US market is also expected to rebound in earnest starting this year," adding, "Customer order volumes continue to increase."

Particularly for the North American market, the focus is on whether the general server market will recover due to increased AI server demand. Han said, "The Americas market is where technological innovation occurs, so we consider the server market the most important," pointing out, "The key is whether the AI server market's growth will drive the general server market and whether Samsung Electronics is prepared when that happens."

He continued, "We plan to continuously enhance product competitiveness and invest in facilities to transition to leading-edge products," stating, "We want to capture more than 50% market share in the US server market, so we will have to work hard." He added, "We expect demand to exceed supply in 2025, so this year will be the first year to prepare for that era."

Regarding the foundry plant being built in Taylor, Texas, USA, Vice President Han said, "The factory construction is progressing as scheduled," and explained, "We are negotiating with the US government and customers regarding the mass production timeline, so we will be able to share specific plans soon."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.