Samsung seems to be geared up for driving its HBM business to newer levels, as the company reportedly passes through a crucial stage of NVIDIA's qualification tests.
SK Hynix & Micron Could Be Joined By The Likes of Samsung In The HBM4 Race, Offering a Much Higher Competition
For those unaware, the Korean giant has been battling to get into NVIDIA's HBM supply chain network, after getting beaten by the likes of SK hynix and Micron. Samsung has made several attempts to get its HBM3 process certified, but the company faced many roadblocks; however, with HBM3E and HBM4, Samsung's position might change. Based on a report by Sedaily, it is claimed that Samsung has passed NVIDIA's reliability tests for HBM4, and the firm has also put up an attractive offer for HBM3E.
The report states that Samsung's HBM4 process was shipped out to NVIDIA last month for sampling, and it has passed the "initial prototype and quality tests", which means that the Korean giant could proceed towards pre-production. The next stage usually involves testing the memory type with prototype GPU solutions to analyze real-time performance and metrics such as temperatures and speeds. Once pre-production is completed, Samsung will then ramp up towards high-volume manufacturing.
Given that Samsung's HBM4 process completes its due process in time, the memory could proceed towards mass production by November. This would join the likes of SK Hynix, which plans to ramp up HBM4 volume by year-end. Getting the certification is a vital breakthrough for Samsung's HBM business for now, given that the firm has been witnessing sluggish quarters, and getting included in NVIDIA's supply chain might prove to be a recovery point for them.
Apart from HBM4, Samsung is said to have made an attractive offer for HBM3E, which involves reducing its pricing by up to 30% to strengthen its position in the HBM industry. Here's what the report claims:
Samsung Electronics is reported to have proposed a 20-30% lower price for the HBM3E to be used in NVIDIA's H20 than SK Hynix's. NVIDIA is reportedly maintaining its position that it will verify the quality tests of Samsung Electronics' HBM3E and HBM4 before agreeing on the HBM3E price with SK Hynix.
Given how rapidly Samsung has lost the DRAM market share over the past few years, the company must take concrete steps to ramp up competition. From the looks of it, the Korean giant is taking effective measures to regain the industry's trust.
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About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
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