Samsung Electronics has reportedly agreed to use Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) 3-nanometre process to manufacture the logic base dies for Nvidia’s next-generation custom high-bandwidth memory (HBM), according to South Korea’s Seoul Economic Daily.
The reported arrangement would mark the first time Samsung and TSMC have cooperated at this stage of HBM manufacturing, shifting part of Samsung’s production process to its foundry rival to meet Nvidia’s technical requirements.
Nvidia has asked Samsung, SK hynix and Micron Technology to manufacture NVHBM base dies using TSMC’s 3nm process while standardising the memory core dies on its sixth-generation, 1c DRAM technology, according to the report. Samsung’s Device Solutions division reportedly accepted the requirements after an internal review.
The arrangement would separate the manufacturing of the logic and memory components. The base die houses the custom logic, while the stacked DRAM dies store data. Under Nvidia’s reported specifications, TSMC would manufacture the base die using its advanced logic process, while the memory suppliers would produce the DRAM core dies using 1c technology.
Nvidia unveiled NVHBM in August 2026, integrating its custom memory controller into the HBM base die rather than placing it on the processor die. Nvidia says the architecture can deliver up to 30% greater memory bandwidth, reduce HBM power consumption by 15% and free up to 25% more area on the processor’s compute die compared with standard HBM4E.
Using a common manufacturing process could also reduce the work required to validate memory products from different suppliers. Nvidia’s reported request reflects an effort to standardise the custom memory implementation across manufacturers rather than accommodate different base-die manufacturing approaches for each supplier.
Samsung will continue producing the base and core dies for its standard HBM products through its own manufacturing operations. It also plans to retain that approach for custom HBM products supplied to other customers, including AMD, according to Seoul Economic Daily.
The newspaper reported that Samsung had previously worked with TSMC to ensure compatibility with the foundry’s packaging process when connecting HBM to graphics processing units. The newly reported arrangement would extend cooperation to the manufacturing stage itself.
Samsung is also examining whether it could manufacture NVHBM base dies in its own foundry. According to the newspaper, the company is preparing for the possibility that demand for Nvidia’s custom memory exceeds TSMC’s available production capacity.
Neither the Reuters report nor the cited newspaper article establishes the final production volumes, delivery schedule or commercial terms of the reported arrangement.
Discover more from Aree Blog
Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.
