Samsung Electronics names new head of semiconductors to lead AI chip race

Samsung Electronics has appointed Young Hyun Jun as the new head of its semiconductor business, at a key moment in which the company seeks to lead the race in artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Jun will replace Kyehyun Kyung, who will now focus on leading Samsung’s future business division and Advanced Institute of Technology.

He aim Samsung’s goal is to “strengthen its competitiveness amid an uncertain global business environment,” according to a company statement. Jun has extensive experience leading Samsung’s memory and battery manufacturing divisions, positioning him as a strategic choice to drive growth in the semiconductor sector.

Samsung competes intensely with SK Hynix in producing the most advanced memory chips on the market, essential for AI applications. Currently, the memory chip market is dominated by Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, the top three global suppliers.

SK Hynix has been the leader in the development of high-bandwidth memories, being the sole supplier of HBM3 chips to Nvidia, one of the leading companies in AI technology. However, Nvidia is also considering Samsung as a potential supplier, which could intensify competition.

Samsung foresees an increase in demand for artificial intelligence and plans to expand the supply of high-end chips

Kazunori Ito, director of equity research at Morningstar, commented in a recent report that he expects competition in the high-bandwidth memory space to intensify in 2025. “For the HBM3 generation, SK Hynix is ​​the exclusive supplier from Nvidia, and we believe there were a few quarters of technological gap between SK Hynix and Samsung,” Ito said.

SK Hynix plans to begin mass production of its latest generation of high-bandwidth memory chips, the 12-layer HBM3E, in the third quarter, while Samsung Electronics plans to do so in the second quarter. Samsung has been the first in the industry to ship samples of the latest chip, signaling a rapid closing of the technology gap.

“This suggests that Samsung is rapidly closing the gap on the technology roadmap. As a result, we expect that all three major suppliers will be able to ship HBM3E to Nvidia, which will intensify price competition,” Ito concluded.

This appointment and Samsung’s strategic moves reflect its commitment to staying at the forefront in a highly competitive market crucial to the development of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.