After falling behind its rivals, SK Hynix and Micron, in the HBM3E market last year, Samsung is finally catching up with the market. While it has yet to pass Nvidia’s qualification test for its 12-layer HBM3E chips, the Korean giant recently passed Broadcom’s qualification test for its 8-layer HBM3E chips. The firm may now supply HBM3E to Broadcom, often referred to as the “second Nvidia.”
Samsung meets Broadcom’s HBM3E speed requirements
According to a report from Korean outlet Sedaily, Samsung recently obtained strong results in Broadcom’s HBM3E 8-layer quality test. It could soon enter the supply chain, as it qualifies Broadcom’s required HBM3E speed. Interestingly, this is the first major progress in their HBM3E collaboration.
Despite being the global leader in the DRAM market, Samsung has been struggling in the HBM sector. NVIDIA’s supply chain has been affected by the poor performance of Samsung’s HBM3E 8-layer products. On the other hand, competitors like SK Hynix and Micron Technology of the United States successfully passed the qualification test early last year.
During the recent Samsung Electronics shareholders’ meeting, Vice Chairman Jeon Young-hyun addressed the current status of HBM3E supply to NVIDIA, saying, “We are currently actively reflecting customer feedback and working to improve product competitiveness.”
In addition to Nvidia and Broadcom, Samsung is trying to expand its HBM supply chain to other major tech giants — recently, Amazon has shown interest in Samsung HBM. It is reportedly developing its 6th generation high bandwidth memory (HBM4) along with custom HBM products for various clients. The company is planning to start mass production of HBM4 chips in the second half of the year.
The CEO of NVIDIA recently hinted that Blackwell Ultra might use Samsung’s fifth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM3E), suggesting Samsung is getting closer to supplying HBM3E for NVIDIA’s AI chips. The Korean firm is also planning to ramp up HBM3E chips as early as Q2 2025, or at the latest, in the second half of this year.
