Samsung Races to Innovate: Mass Production of HBM3E Chips Sets Stage for High-Performance Computing Evolution

In a recent earnings call following the release of their third-quarter financial results, Samsung Electronics' Vice President of Memory Business, Kim Jae-june, revealed that the company is currently mass-producing 8-layer and 12-layer HBM3E products. He noted that significant strides have been made in meeting the quality testing requirements of a "major client," which is widely speculated to be NVIDIA.

Kim further disclosed that efforts are underway to expand the sales of these advanced memory chips to multiple clients. Samsung is working on refining its HBM3E products to align with the next-generation GPU plans of this key client, signifying a potential shift in the competitive landscape of the high-performance computing market.

In addition to its HBM3E developments, Samsung announced plans to develop the sixth-generation HBM4, with mass production slated for the latter half of next year. This forward-looking approach highlights Samsung's commitment to advancing its technological capabilities in the face of industry competition.

Currently, Samsung's HBM3E products are manufactured using their 14nm-class (1a nm) DRAM. This presents a relative process disadvantage compared to competitors such as SK Hynix and Micron, which utilize 1b DRAM for their HBM products. Furthermore, Samsung's initial design of its 12nm-class (1b nm) DRAM did not accommodate HBM applications, presenting challenges in adapting their DRAM Die selection for HBM3E memory production.