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Nvidia approves Samsung’s HBM3 chips for China-exclusive processor

Published: 24 Jul. 2024, 10:53 Updated: 24 Jul. 2024, 17:46

JIN EUN-SOO
[email protected]

The logo of Nvidia Corporation is seen during the annual Computex exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan on May 30, 2017. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Samsung Electronics passed Nvidia's verification test for its fourth generation of high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, or HBM3, albeit partially, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Samsung Electronics did not comment on the matter.

Samsung Electronics' HBM3 has received the long-awaited greenlight from the American chip giant, according to the media outlet, but will only be used in a less advanced processor, the H20, designed for the Chinese market, at least for now.

Nvidia exclusively designs processors that are less sophisticated for the Chinese market due to export sanctions from the United States.

Whether or not Samsung's HBM3 chips will be used in other processors remains unconfirmed, according to Reuters' sources.

Samsung Electronics is still in the verification process for the fifth generation HBM chips, or HBM3E, the report said.

HBM3E is deployed in Nvidia's latest GPUs, including the H200. Samsung's crosstown rival SK hynix has already passed the test and began supplying the chips to Nvidia early this year.

Micron, the third player in the HBM game, is also pushing hard for its 12-layered HBM3E to land on Nvidia's H200 GPUs. The firm made a surprise announcement early this year that it had succeeded in mass-producing the advanced memory chip, possibly for prototypes.

SK hynix plans to mass-produce the same type of chips in the third quarter, the memory chip giant said during a news conference in March, moving up the schedule significantly as competition heats up.

Samsung Electronics opened lower on Wednesday morning, trading at 82,100 won ($59.30), which is 2.15 percent down from the previous trading day. It recovered slightly in the afternoon trading, closing at 82,200 won, 2.03 percent down from the previous trading day.

HBM is a premium type of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chip that stacks dies vertically to enable the processing of more data with low energy consumption. The ongoing AI frenzy has been driving up demand, leading to a supply shortage.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [[email protected]]