Samsung HBM3E Memory Still Awaits Qualification From NVIDIA, Firms Preps For Mass-Production

Samsung's HBM3E memory, which has been the subject of industry rumors, expects to complete NVIDIA's qualification soon as the Korean giants prepare for mass production.

Samsung's journey in the HBM segment hasn't been optimal since the Korean giant hasn't made huge strides compared to its competitors like SK hynix. Initially, the company had trouble finding customers, and when it got the attention of the likes of AMD and NVIDIA, Samsung started to face trouble in passing qualification tests, especially for Team Green.

There were rumors that the Korean giant had failed NVIDIA's tests, but Jensen Huang himself refuted the claim. It is said that Samsung is on track for mass production, which means that the firm is looking to achieve a breakthrough soon.

This development was initially reported by media outlets as a "success" in passing NVIDIA's qualification tests, but later, after clarification, the news was revised. Apparently, according to outlets such as New Daily and Hankyung, the Korean giant hasn't received a green signal from NVIDIA, but rather, Samsung themselves are preparing their production lines for HBM and have reached the PRA (Production Readiness Approval) stage, which is a pre-emptive measure for mass production.

It is not true. (While responding on qualification rumor)

The company is consistently conducting HBM3E quality tests, and the report that major large customers have passed the quality tests is not true.

- Samsung via Hankyung

The Korean media further states that Samsung has resolved the "heat production" issue with their HBM and is close to receiving approval from NVIDIA for supply. Right now, the need to achieve a breakthrough is crucial for both companies involved since Samsung needs a breakthrough for its memory division to thrive, whereas NVIDIA needs additional suppliers since the firm anticipates such demand for products such as Blackwell as well. Unconfirmed reports say that Samsung has the biggest HBM production capacity, so securing the firm in its supply chain will be big for NVIDIA.

Samsung hasn't specified a mass production schedule for HBM; however, the firm is anticipated to initiate mass production by Q3 2024, which can also be pushed up to Q1 2025.