SEOUL, March 18 - Samsung Electronics and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at extending their strategic relationship in supplying memory chips used in artificial intelligence systems.
According to a joint statement issued by the two companies on Wednesday, the agreement centers on Samsung providing its next-generation high-bandwidth memory, known as HBM4, for AMD's forthcoming Instinct MI455X AI accelerators. The memorandum also covers the supply of optimized DDR5 memory for AMD's sixth-generation EPYC server processors.
In addition to these memory supply commitments, the companies said they will explore conditions for a foundry partnership. Under such an arrangement, Samsung could offer contract chip manufacturing services for next-generation AMD products, a move that would extend their cooperation beyond memory components into wafer fabrication services.
Samsung is set to position itself as a primary HBM4 supplier for AMD's next-generation GPUs. The South Korean company already serves as a major HBM supplier to AMD, having provided HBM3E chips used in the MI350X and MI355X accelerators.
The announcement comes in the same week as Nvidia's annual GTC event, where Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang on Monday disclosed a foundry partnership with the Korean firm and praised Samsung's HBM4 chips. The development underscores intensifying competition among global chipmakers to secure long-term arrangements for advanced memory as demand from AI applications increases and HBM supplies tighten.
Samsung has been working to close the gap with rivals in the growing HBM market. Citing market-share figures from Counterpoint, the companies noted Samsung holds about a 22% share of the global HBM market, compared with market leader SK Hynix at about 57%.
AMD's recent commercial activity in the AI chip space is also highlighted in the statement. Last month, AMD disclosed an agreement to sell up to $60 billion worth of AI chips to Meta Platforms over five years, under terms that allow the buyer to acquire as much as 10% of the chips. AMD previously reached a comparable agreement with OpenAI last year.
The memorandum of understanding formalizes immediate memory supply priorities while leaving broader manufacturing collaborations subject to further discussion between the two firms.