Nvidia CEO praises Samsung chips but stays silent on HBM deal
During a press conference held on the sidelines of the Nvidia GTC 2025 developers conference in San Jose on Wednesday, Huang said he expects Samsung to play an "important role." However, when asked whether Samsung's latest HBM3E chips will be used in Nvidia's next-generation graphics architecture, Blackwell Ultra, Huang refrained from giving a direct answer.
Instead, he explained that Samsung has the capability to integrate the base die of HBM with application-specific integrated circuits and memory, a key skill required for manufacturing leading-edge AI chips.
Huang's ambiguous response has fueled speculation over whether Samsung can secure Nvidia — one of the industry's largest buyers of high-value HBM chips — as a client.
Despite concerns, Samsung Electronics' shares remained strong on Thursday, continuing their upward trend as the chair and top executives reaffirmed their commitment to boosting stock growth.
Industry sources revealed that Samsung Chair Lee Jae-yong recently urged employees to adopt a 'do-or-die' mentality to reclaim the company's competitive edge, acknowledging the challenges in its key business sectors.
'What matters is not the crisis itself, but how we respond to it. We must invest in the future, even if it means sacrificing immediate profits,' Lee reportedly said in a prerecorded video message shown to around 2,000 Samsung executives, delivering a rare and direct statement.
Samsung's top executives have also pledged to make a "painstaking effort" to drive a market rebound.
Jun Young-hyun, head of Samsung's semiconductor business, confirmed that the company will begin mass production of its 12-layer HBM3E chips in the second quarter or the latter half of this year, while next-generation HBM4 chips are also set to enter mass production in the second half of 2025.
As of 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Samsung Electronics' shares rose 2.56 percent to 60,000 won ($41), marking a second consecutive day of gains.
For Samsung to fully capitalize on its 12-layer HBM3E chips, it needs to secure a supply deal with Nvidia for Blackwell Ultra, which Huang announced will launch in the second half of this year.
At GTC 2025, Huang also unveiled Vera Rubin, Nvidia's next graphics architecture, scheduled for release in late 2026.
Samsung is currently trailing behind its smaller rival, SK hynix, in the HBM race. SK hynix is already supplying 12-layer HBM3E chips to customers and showcased a prototype of its next-generation 12-layer HBM4 at GTC 2025.
Meanwhile, Huang downplayed concerns over the Trump administration's tariffs, stating that they will not have a significant impact on Nvidia's financial performance in the short term.
"We have a really agile network of suppliers; they are not just in Taiwan or Mexico or Vietnam," Huang said during the press conference. "If we add onshore manufacturing by the end of this year, we should be quite good."
Us President Donald Trump has threatened to impose additional tariffs on imported computer chips, continuing his protectionist trade policies targeting major trading partners like Mexico, Canada, and China since taking office in January.
Huang also emphasized Nvidia's evolving business model, stating that the company no longer considers itself a chipmaker, but an infrastructure supplier.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
5 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Samsung chief vows to 'work hard' after returning from exclusive Sun Valley conference
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong returned to South Korea on Monday after attending the exclusive Sun Valley conference in Idaho, joining some of the world's most powerful business leaders for a week of closed-door discussions and networking. Arriving in the morning at Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center, Lee said, 'I will work hard,' when asked about Samsung's performance outlook for the second half of the year. He also noted that he felt tired after a packed schedule. Hosted by US boutique investment bank Allen & Co, the annual Sun Valley Conference is dubbed the 'summer camp for billionaires' and has been a must-attend for media moguls, tech and finance executives since 1983. This year's attendees reportedly included Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and founder Jeff Bezos, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, among others. Lee was a regular attendee since 2002, when he was a vice president of Samsung, but had not attended the event since 2017 due to legal disputes related to the political scandal that impeached President Park Geun-hye. In court testimony in 2017, Lee said Sun Vally is 'the busiest and most important business trip of the year.' Lee Won-jin, president and head of the global marketing office, was also spotted attending the event. Samsung chief's attendance at the meeting comes as the tech giant faces a significant challenge in its key chip business. The company projected its operating profit for the second quarter to be around 4.6 trillion won ($3.33 billion), a 55.9 percent drop from a year earlier. Analysts attributed it to the sluggish chip businesses, especially amid delays in the supply of AI-critical high bandwidth memory, or HBM, as well as the fallout from US tariff policies. Lee also awaits a final ruling from South Korea's Supreme Court on Thursday over charges including stock manipulation, breach of trust, accounting fraud and other irregularities in connection with a contentious 2015 merger of Samsung affiliates, Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T. Lee was acquitted in both his first and second trials.
Korea Herald
10 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Seoul shares start slightly higher despite tariff woes
South Korean stocks opened a tad higher Monday despite renewed tariff threats by US President Donald Trump over the weekend. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 7.15 points, or 0.23 percent, to 3,182.92 as of 11:20 a.m. On Saturday, Trump said he has sent letters to key trade partners, including the European Union and Mexico, threatening duties of 30 percent on imports and setting the negotiations deadline on Aug. 1. In Seoul, major shares started in mixed territory. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.8 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix rose 2.21 percent. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor added 0.72 percent, but its sister Kia retreated 0.6 percent. K-pop powerhouse Hybe declined 0.18 percent, and entertainment giant CJ ENM increased 0.58 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,376.55 won against the US dollar at 11:20 a.m., down 1.15 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Korea Herald
Kospi hits 3,200 intraday milestone, closes lower amid profit-taking
South Korea's benchmark Kospi surged past the 3,200 milestone during intraday trading Friday for the first time in nearly four years, marking a new high in its ongoing rally. The Kospi opened at 3,186.35, up 0.1 percent from the previous day's close, extending Thursday's gains. Shortly after the opening bell, the index jumped past 3,200 and reached as high as 3,216.69 — a new year-high. After hitting its intraday peak, the index quickly pared gains and dropped to as low as 3,170.46 during afternoon trading. It ended the session at 3,175.77, down 0.23 percent, unable to reclaim the 3,200 mark by the close. Friday's rally marked the first time the benchmark index had surpassed the 3,200 threshold since September 2021. The latest milestone came just a day after the Kospi closed at a fresh high of 3,183.23 on Thursday. The Kospi first closed above the historic 3,000 mark on June 20, shortly after the presidential election. Just four days later, on June 24, it crossed the 3,100 level. Though the index dipped below 3,200 by the close on Friday, its intraday milestone — reached in under a month — underscores the market's upward momentum. Friday's advance was largely fueled by a buying spree from retail investors, who net purchased 146.6 billion won ($106 million) worth of shares on the Kospi, reinforcing signs of renewed domestic investor confidence. However, foreign and institutional investors capped gains by offloading 126.3 billion won and 66.6 billion won in shares, respectively. Among blue-chip stocks, Samsung Electronics and its preferred shares gained more than 2 percent on growing expectations of improved earnings in the second half of the year. LG Energy Solution (+1.1 percent), Kia (+0.7 percent) and KB Financial Group (+0.43 percent) also posted modest gains. On the other hand, Naver (-2.5 percent), Samsung Biologics (-2.13 percent) and SK hynix (-0.84 percent) saw declines. 'Amid expectations that Samsung Electronics' earnings will improve in the second half of this year, foreign buying strengthened. The market turned around Friday as underperforming large-cap stocks such as Samsung Electronics and secondary battery companies rebounded,' said Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Shinhan Securities. The secondary Kosdaq index closed at 800.47, up 0.35 percent on the day. During intraday trading, it climbed as high as 805.9, returning to the 800-point range for the first time since June 25. Unlike the Kospi, foreign and institutional investors were net buyers on the Kosdaq, purchasing shares worth 56.7 billion won and 9.5 billion won, respectively. Retail investors offloaded shares worth 63.7 billion won.
