Samsung's chip chief pledges HBM3e leadership in AI processor market

CEO Han promises ‘painstaking efforts’ to improve shareholder value

By Nam Hyun-woo

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun said the company's fifth-generation high-bandwidth memory 3e (HBM3e) chip will play "a leading role" in the global artificial intelligence (AI) process market as early as the second quarter of this year.

During the company's annual general shareholders' meeting on Wednesday, Jun, who also heads the chipmaker's Device Solutions (DS) division, acknowledged shareholders' criticism that its belated response to the AI-specific memory chip market is one of the reasons for the prolonged downturn of the company's stock price.

He assured that Samsung will not repeat its "mistakes" in the upcoming market competitions for the sixth-generation HBM4 and customized HBM.

“Despite the continued uncertainties in the global semiconductor market, we are internally strengthening our response through product improvements and organizational restructuring," he said.

Formerly the world's leading memory chipmaker, Samsung Electronics lost its leadership due to struggles in supplying HBM3e chips to Nvidia, a dominant player in the global AI accelerator market with its graphics processing unit, or GPU, and other solutions. As a result, domestic rival SK hynix has become the world’s leading HBM supplier based on its strong supply ties with Nvidia.

This has negatively affected Samsung's share prices and has put the DS division under scrutiny.

A shareholder at the meeting criticized the prolonged downturn in stock price, saying it was largely attributable to the company's failure to supply HBM3e chips to Nvidia.

"We are now making efforts to improve product competitiveness by reflecting client feedback," Jun said. "As an outcome, (our) 12-layer HBM3e chips will be able to play a leading role in the market as early as the second quarter of this year or no later than the second half of this year."

Jun added the sixth-generation HBM4 and customized HBM products are now under development with the goal of beginning their mass production in the second half of this year.

“Though we missed the early market after failing to grasp the HBM trend, there will not be similar mistakes in the HBM4 and customized HBM market."

In a presentation to shareholders, Jun said that the company plans to double its HBM supplies compared to 2024 and focus on high-value-added NAND products, such as high-capacity solid-state drives.

Shareholders also questioned Samsung’s foundry and chip designing businesses, saying the company is now lagging far behind the world’s biggest foundry, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

Han Jin-man, president of the foundry business, said the company “does not lack advanced technology” and its “primary goal this year is improving yield rates.”

The shareholder meeting came amid growing concerns over the company’s key businesses' performance and the prolonged downturn of the company’s stock price.

After reaching 88,800 won on July 11 last year, its stock has been in a downward spiral, once plunging to 49,900 won on Nov. 14. Since then, the share price has remained below the 60,000 won mark.

This was largely interpreted as a signal that investors are losing confidence in Samsung’s competitiveness in both chip and device businesses.

In the fourth quarter of last year, the company’s Device eXperience (DX) division, which encompasses smartphones, TVs and other household appliances, suffered a 10 percent decline in operating profit from three months earlier. The chip-making DS division’s operating profit posted a 25 percent decline during the same period.

During the meeting, its CEO and Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee pledged to make “painstaking efforts” to improve shareholder value. Han Jong-hee is also the head of the DX division.

“I sincerely apologize to our shareholders for the company's recent stock price not meeting expectations,” Han Jong-hee said. “Last year, we failed to respond quickly to rapid changes in the AI semiconductor market, while our key products — such as smartphones, TVs and home appliances — could not establish clear market leadership.”

Han Jong-hee added that the company’s stock price is on a bearish run due to concerns about technological competitiveness and risks stemming from U.S. pressure to impose hefty tariffs.

Regarding questions about Samsung’s plan for “a large-scale mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deal,” which the company has been presenting as a potential breakthrough to address the current slowdown, Han Jong-hee said Samsung has been “exploring M&A deals in various ways” and will do its utmost to deliver “tangible results this year.”

During the meeting, shareholders approved four agendas the board proposed, including appointing Jun and Song Jai-hyuk, the DS division’s chief technology officer, as new board members. The shareholder meeting was held at the Suwon Convention Center in Gyeonggi Province and drew more than 900 shareholders.

Following the meeting, Samsung's board appointed Jun as the co-CEO of Samsung Electronics.

“By naming Jun as the co-CEO, Samsung Electronics will have two CEOs to reinforce the responsibility of each business division,” the company said in a statement. “Through this, Samsung aims to strengthen the competitiveness of its core businesses and establish a foundation for sustainable growth.”