Samsung unveils chip technology road map to win AI business

Samsung Electronics unveiled a number of forthcoming advancements to its technology aimed at luring makers of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to its manufacturing business.

Though Samsung is the world’s No. 1 memory-chip maker, it has been trying to catch up with rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) in the foundry market, where companies manufacture customer-designed chips. Samsung laid out its chipmaking road map and outlined its vision for the AI era at its annual foundry forum Wednesday at its US chip headquarters in San Jose, California.

Samsung’s share in the foundry market slid to 11 per cent in the first quarter of this year from 11.3 per cent in the previous quarter, while TSMC’s share climbed to 61.7 per cent from 61.2 per cent during the same period, according to TrendForce.

The South Korean chipmaker’s earnings are recovering, helped by demand for components used in AI computing systems. That is bolstering its main memory chip division and also providing opportunities to win outsourcing orders.

But Samsung has to prove its production is advanced and reliable enough to attract bigger commitments from demanding customers such as Nvidia, which produces AI accelerators that are a must-have for all large technology companies. Samsung also faces a nascent challenge from Intel, which is opening its plants in an attempt to win orders from former rivals.

Advances in production technology, usually signified by smaller and smaller transistor dimensions, helps improve the performance of the electronic components. The race to smaller dimensions is key to winning orders for AI processors, some of the highest performing and most expensive chips in use.