Samsung bolsters AI chip leadership through next-generation technology

Han Jin-man, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics, speaks during the MemCon 2023 semiconductor conference in Silicon Valley, March 28, 2023. Courtesy of MemCon

Samsung Electronics is poised to introduce cutting-edge technology for Compute Express Link (CXL) DRAM in March, aiming to enhance data processing speed and reinforce its position as a front-runner in the AI memory chip market.

The chip giant also aims to bolster the competitiveness of its foundry business by enhancing cooperation with chip design company Arm, which is seeing increased AI chip demand, according to the company and industry officials, Sunday.

These developments come at a time when Samsung Electronics faces stiff competition from its domestic rival SK hynix, which has established dominance in the AI memory chip sector, particularly with its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. Additionally, in the foundry business, TSMC, the world's largest foundry company, is experiencing a surge in orders for semiconductor manufacturing in the AI era, further solidifying its position. Concurrently, Samsung's U.S. rival Intel is intensifying its efforts in the foundry business, posing additional challenges for Samsung.

To enhance its competence in the AI memory chip sector, Samsung plans to present its technology and vision for CXL DRAM, known as the next-generation technology of HBM, at the MemCon 2024 global semiconductor conference to be held in Silicon Valley next month.

At this two-day event, which takes place on March 26 and 27, Han Jin-man, executive vice president of Samsung, will give an opening speech. In addition, Choi Jin-hyeok, executive vice president of the company, will share Samsung's CXL technology and vision in a keynote speech on the topic of "Leading HBM and CXL Innovations in the AI Era For High Memory Bandwidth & High Capacity Fulfillment."

CXL is a next-generation technology standard that efficiently connects different devices in applications requiring high-performance computations, such as AI, machine learning and big data. With the exponential growth in data volume requiring processing across devices and the expanding role of data center servers, there is a growing need for a greater number and variety of devices to collaborate on single tasks. CXL technology is anticipated to efficiently address this challenge by facilitating seamless communication and collaboration among diverse devices.

With the anticipated launch of CXL DRAM products starting this year, Choi's speech at MemCon 2024 is poised to make a significant impact in the semiconductor industry. Market research firm Yole Group forecasts the global CXL market to grow substantially, reaching approximately $15 billion by 2028.

Samsung currently holds a solid leadership in the CXL market, which is still in its infancy. The company was the first in the industry to introduce CXL DRAM in 2021, and is expected to launch CXL 2.0 DRAM in the second quarter of this year.

"Recently, what I've been feeling is that AI is at the center of all companies, and what I've noticed recently is that memory semiconductors will play a more leading role in the AI era," Han told reporters during the Consumer Electronics Show in January. He added that he expects the growth of AI semiconductors to spread, not only to the currently growing HBM, but also to CXL.

In the foundry business, Samsung recently announced that it is expanding cooperation with the global chip design company Arm.

As part of this collaboration, Samsung will optimize Arm's system-on-chip (SoC) design assets for its latest gate-all-around (GAA) process technology to enhance technical competitiveness.

GAA technology stands as a next-generation semiconductor core innovation that addresses the challenges of transistor performance decline stemming from process miniaturization. It promises to elevate data processing speed and power efficiency. Notably, Samsung achieved a pioneering feat by introducing GAA to a 3-nanometer process in 2022, marking a significant advancement in semiconductor technology.

"As we continue into the generative AI era, we are excited to extend our partnership with Arm to deliver the next generation Cortex-X CPU, enabling our mutual customers to create innovative products," Kye Jong-wook, head of foundry design platform development at Samsung, said.