In the current wave of artificial intelligence (AI) advancements, the market related to AI chips is flourishing, but Samsung Electronics seems to have fallen behind. In light of this, the company appointed Young Hyun Jun as the new head of the semiconductor division on Monday, aiming to catch up with competitors like SK Hynix.
Samsung Electronics stated in a recent announcement that Young Hyun Jun brings extensive experience in the field of memory chips. Jun joined Samsung's semiconductor division in 2000 and played a key role in developing fundamental DRAM and flash memory chips for smartphones and servers.
"This proactive measure is intended to enhance future competitiveness by revitalizing both internal and external environments," the company stated.
Meanwhile, the former head of Samsung's semiconductor division, Kyung Kye-hyun, will now lead Samsung's Advanced Technology Research Institute and Future Business Team.
Samsung is ramping up efforts in the pursuit of catching up.
Analysts suggest this move may indicate Samsung's readiness to make a push in the high-end chip market for artificial intelligence, such as High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), an area where the company lags behind competitors like SK Hynix.
HBM is a new type of CPU/GPU memory chip that essentially stacks multiple DDR chips together and packages them with the GPU, achieving a large-capacity, high-bit-width DDR array. HBM can meet the real demands of high computing power and large storage in the era of big models. Therefore, HBM is gradually becoming a key force for major players in the storage industry to turn around their performance.
Data from the provider TrendForce shows that in the fourth quarter of last year, Samsung held a 45.5% share in the DRAM chip market. However, in the niche but increasingly important HBM chip sector, it lags behind SK Hynix.
Lee Min-hee, an analyst at BNK Investment & Securities, mentioned, "Samsung has missed out on many global trends in artificial intelligence." Fortunately, the company has now started to make efforts to catch up.
Earlier, Samsung Electronics stated in its Q1 financial report that it had begun mass-producing its latest HBM product - HBM3E 8H (eight-layer stack) and plans to mass-produce the next generation HBM chip - HBM3E 12H (12-layer stack) in the second quarter. Additionally, due to the company's focus on HBM production, the supply of advanced DRAM products in the second half of the year is expected to face additional constraints.
Analysts note that it is unusual for Samsung to change high-ranking executives in the middle of the year, as most personnel changes typically occur at the beginning of the year.
In response, Samsung stated, "We hope that with his (Young Hyun Jun) accumulated business experience, he will overcome the chip crisis."
