Samsung to use chip-making tech favoured by SK Hynix as AI race heats up, sources say
- Samsung has fallen behind in the AI chip race partly because its NCF method has caused some production issues
- SK Hynix switched to the MR-MUF technique ahead of others, becoming the first vendor to supply highly sought-after HBM3 chips to Nvidia
The demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips has boomed with the growing popularity of generative AI. But Samsung, unlike peers SK Hynix and Micron Technology, has been conspicuous by its absence in any deal making with AI chip leader Nvidia to supply latest HBM chips.
One of the reasons Samsung has fallen behind is its decision to stick with chip making technology called non-conductive film (NCF) that causes some production issues, while Hynix switched to the mass reflow moulded underfill (MR-MUF) method to address NCF’s weakness, according to analysts and industry watchers.
Samsung, however, has recently issued purchase orders for chip-making equipment designed to handle MUF technique, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
02:18
From K-pop to salesgirls: AI goes mainstream in South Korea
“Samsung had to do something to ramp up its HBM (production) yields … adopting MUF technique is a little bit of swallow-your-pride type thing for Samsung, because it ended up following the technique first used by SK Hynix,” one of the sources said.