Samsung ships next-generation AI chip samples to global customers
Seoul, May 29
Samsung Electronics said on Friday it has begun shipping samples of its latest high-bandwidth memory chip, the 12-layer HBM4E, marking the world's first shipment of the next-generation artificial intelligence memory product.
The move comes just three months after Samsung became the first company to begin mass production and shipments of sixth-generation HBM4 chips in February, underscoring its efforts to strengthen its leadership in the rapidly growing AI memory market.
According to the company, the HBM4E delivers industry-leading performance through optimised chip design and manufacturing processes, reports Yonhap news agency.
The chip supports data transfer speeds of up to 16 gigabits per second per pin, more than 20 percent faster than the previous HBM4 lineup.
The chip also offers bandwidth of up to 3.6 terabytes per second per stack, enabling faster processing speeds for large language models and next-generation AI systems.
"Following the successful mass production of HBM4, Samsung has completed the shipment of next-generation HBM4E samples without disruption, further solidifying its technological leadership in the market," Hwang Sang-joon, head of memory development at Samsung Electronics, said in a statement.
The tech giant said it plans to begin mass production of the HBM4E in line with customer schedules following the sample shipments.
Samsung's customers include major AI companies, such as Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Nvidia and Google.
Meanwhile, South Korean stocks traded higher on Friday as investors were buoyed by reports that the United States and Iran had reached an agreement to extend their ceasefire.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had gained 190.76 points, or 2.33 percent, to 8,376.05 as of 11:20 am (local time).
Overnight reports said Washington and Tehran agreed to a 60-day extension of the ceasefire and further talks on Iran's nuclear programmes.
Wall Street was boosted by the reports, with all three major stock indexes posting record closing highs.
In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 4.34 percent and its chipmaking rival SK hynix added 1.4 percent.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Meanwhile, our Indian tech companies are still arguing about H-1B visas and outsourcing. 😅 Samsung's R&D budget probably equals half our country's tech exports. The gap is real. Also curious if this ceasefire extension between US and Iran is actually going to stabilize chip supply chains or if it's just a temporary band-aid.
20% faster speeds? That's impressive but the real story is how quickly they ramped up from HBM4 to HBM4E samples in just three months. Samsung's memory division is on fire. India's own semiconductor ambitions better take notes – we can't afford to lag behind when AI is eating the world. Also, that KOSPI jump shows markets love a good geopolitical truce.
As someone working in AI infrastructure, this is huge news. But Samsung has a history of over-promising on memory speeds. Let's see if actual chips deliver 16 Gbps per pin in real-world workloads. Also, a bit worried about supply constraints – if both Samsung and SK hynix are this hot, we might see another memory price hike soon. Good for investors, bad for startups like ours.
All these billion-dollar chips going to Nvidia and Google while we can't even get proper stable internet in tier-2 cities. 😤 Priorities, yaar. But seriously, Samsung's dedication to beating SK hynix is admirable. Just hope they maintain quality – remember the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco? Can't afford that kind of recall on AI chips.
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