AMD’s Upcoming AI Accelerators Position Samsung at the Forefront of the AI Semiconductor Supply Chain
Jeon Young-hyun (left), Head of Samsung Electronics’ DS Division, and Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, pose for a commemorative photo after signing a business agreement at Samsung’s state-of-the-art semiconductor production site in Pyeongtaek on March 18. (Photo provided by Samsung Electronics)
Samsung Electronics will prioritize the supply of its 6th-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM4) for the next-generation AI accelerators of the American artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor company, AMD. Following its industry-first mass production shipment of HBM4 to Nvidia, the company is seen as pulling ahead in the next-generation HBM market by securing another ‘major’ client.
While Nvidia was unveiling its latest AI chip in the United States, its competitor AMD visited South Korea to strengthen its collaboration with Samsung. Spearheaded by HBM4, the global competition for dominance in the AI semiconductor supply chain is now entering a full-fledged phase. It is assessed that Samsung Electronics is driving into the center of the semiconductor hegemony race, using memory—the core of AI accelerators—as its weapon.
On March 18, Samsung Electronics signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with AMD at its Pyeongtaek Campus in Gyeonggi Province to expand cooperation on next-generation AI memory and computing technologies. The signing ceremony was attended by executives from both companies, including Jeon Young-hyun, Vice Chairman and Head of Samsung Electronics’ DS Division, and Lisa Su, CEO of AMD.
Through this agreement, Samsung Electronics has been designated as a priority supplier of HBM4 to be integrated into AMD’s AI accelerators. Samsung Electronics’ HBM4 is scheduled to be fully integrated into AMD’s next-generation AI accelerator, the ‘Instinct MI455X’ GPU.
Vice Chairman Jeon said, “Samsung and AMD share a common goal of advancing AI computing,” and “We possess unique turnkey capabilities to support AMD’s AI roadmap, spanning HBM4, next-generation memory architecture, and cutting-edge foundry and packaging technologies.”
CEO Su emphasized, “Close collaboration across the industry is essential for implementing next-generation AI infrastructure,” adding, “It is highly meaningful to combine Samsung’s advanced memory technology with AMD’s GPU, CPU, and platform capabilities.”
Last month, Samsung Electronics began mass production of HBM4 featuring 1c DRAM and a 4-nanometer base die. It has raised the performance standard itself with a maximum speed of 13 Gbps and a bandwidth of 3.3 TB/s. This is interpreted as a decisive move to secure leadership in the next-generation AI memory market.
The two companies will expand their cooperation beyond DDR5 memory to include the optimization of entire AI data center systems and server CPU performance. This creates a structure where they will jointly enhance the overall performance of AI servers, going beyond just memory. They also agreed to discuss the possibility of Samsung contract manufacturing AMD’s next-generation chips. Samsung Electronics’ integrated capabilities, encompassing everything from memory to foundry and packaging, are cited as the foundation for this collaboration.
On this day, CEO Su visited South Korea for the first time since taking office. In the morning, she visited Naver’s headquarters to discuss AI data center cooperation with Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon. Afterward, she visited Samsung Electronics’ Pyeongtaek Campus to inspect the production lines. In the evening, she is scheduled to have dinner with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong. On the upcoming 19th, she is also scheduled to meet with Roh Tae-moon, President and Head of Samsung Electronics’ DX Division.
AMD’s visit to Korea is interpreted as a move to secure its supply chain, targeting Nvidia. AMD, the second-largest player in the AI accelerator market, plans to apply HBM4 to its next-generation products. The analysis is that AMD is accelerating its cooperation with Samsung Electronics, as memory supply and demand directly translate to competitiveness.
Meanwhile, labor union risk has emerged as a variable within Samsung Electronics. On the same day, the joint bargaining group of Samsung Electronics’ labor unions announced that a vote on industrial action regarding the 2026 wage negotiations passed with a 93.1% approval rate. As a result, the union has secured the right to industrial action.
The union plans to engage in phased actions, including a rally in April and a general strike in May. As they are demanding a restructuring of the performance bonus system and a wage increase, the possibility of risks such as production disruptions materializing during future negotiations has been raised.
There are also concerns from the industry that "if labor-management conflict becomes prolonged amid intensifying competition in AI semiconductors, it could become a burden on overall business operations."Samsung Prioritizes AMD’s AI Chip Supply
Kim Eun-jin
pr@businesskorea.co.kr
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