Samsung Electronics will supply the seventh-generation graphics memory (GDDR7) to NVIDIA on a large scale. The number of NVIDIA's orders has doubled compared to the original one. Samsung has also completed production preparations and will start the new production line as soon as this month. It is generally believed in the industry that this batch of GDDR7 will be applied to the AI accelerator "B40" designed by NVIDIA for the Chinese market.
Insiders revealed that NVIDIA had previously proposed expansion requirements to Samsung, and Samsung immediately added new equipment and increased investment in raw materials, and has been fully prepared. Although the specific order amount has not been made public, the estimated size is at least 100 billion KD; if the substrate required for GDDR7 is matched, it may reach about 200 billion KD. Morgan Stanley predicts that B40 shipments can reach 1 million units this year.
GDDR7 is the latest generation of graphics memory, with existing specifications for bandwidth performance. Compared with HBMs that are mainly used in AI accelerators, GDDR7 is not as effective as HBMs, but due to its low packaging cost and high design flexibility, it is especially suitable for edge applications with limited space and heat dissipation.
Market observation pointed out that the key to B40's choice of GDDR7 is to deliberately lower the data processing scale to avoid the US's export restrictions on advanced AI chips to China. TrendForce analyst Frank Kung believes that if the inconsistency of geopolitical politics continues, B40 has the opportunity to become an important alternative to the Chinese market.
The outside world is also concerned about whether Samsung and NVIDIA's cooperation in GDDR7 will expand to the high-frequency wide memory field. Samsung is actively promoting the sixth-generation HBM (HBM4) supply plan, and adopts the latest 1c stage process to reverse the bad luck in the competition with SK Hynix and Micron.
GDDR7 공급 늘려달라’…삼성, 엔비디아 그래픽 D램 2배 증산