Samsung is the world's largest memory chip manufacturer.
Jakub Porzycki | Nurfoto | Getty Images
Samsung Electronics on Tuesday named a new head of its semiconductor business as it aims to lead the AI chip race.
Yong Hyun-jun will succeed Kye-hyun Kyung, who will be responsible for the Future Business Division and Samsung Advanced Technology University, which will focus on finding new growth opportunities.
Samsung Electronics said the company aims to “strengthen its competitiveness amid an uncertain global business environment,” adding that Jun has extensive experience leading the company's memory and battery manufacturing divisions.
Samsung is in fierce competition with SK Hynix to produce the most advanced memory chips on the market to ride the AI wave. The memory chip market is currently dominated by the world's top three suppliers: Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron.
SK Hynix is the sole supplier of HBM3 chips to Nvidia, which is at the forefront of AI chips, and has led the way in high-bandwidth memory. Nvidia is also reportedly considering Samsung as a supplier.
“We expect competition for high-bandwidth memory to intensify in 2025. For the HBM3 generation, SK Hynix is Nvidia's exclusive supplier, and there was a technology gap of several quarters between SK Hynix and Samsung. I'm thinking about it,'' Kazunori Ito said. Morningstar's director of equity research said in a report earlier this month.
SK Hynix plans to start mass production of the latest generation high-bandwidth memory chip, 12-layer HBM3E, in the third quarter, and Samsung Electronics will also be the first in the industry to start mass production, with mass production expected to begin within the second quarter. That's what I'm aiming for. We will ship samples of the latest chips.
”[This suggests] Samsung is rapidly filling gaps in its technology roadmap. “As a result, all three major suppliers will be able to ship his HBM3E to Nvidia, and we expect price competition to intensify,” Ito said.
