Samsung taps rival TSMC's 3nm lines for Nvidia's custom HBM base die
What's the deal? SamsungDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Electronics will build the base die for Nvidia's custom high-bandwidth memory on TSMC's 3-nanometre process, Seoul Economic Daily reported, citing industry sources — the first time Samsung has worked with the Taiwanese foundry at the HBM manufacturing stage. Nvidia has asked Samsung, SK hynixDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Micron to use TSMC's process for the base dies of its new NVHBM memory, and its own sixth-generation DRAM technology for the core dies. Nvidia is co-designing the base die, a core component of NVHBM, with Samsung and TSMC.
Why the base die matters: It sits at the bottom of the HBM stack and houses the logic circuits that set data transfer speed. NVHBM moves the memory controller off the GPU and onto this base die, freeing GPU space for more computing circuits.
The redesign lets NVHBM widen memory bandwidth by up to 30% and cut power use by 15% against standard HBM4E, the seventh generation. To fit the controller, the physical layer was shrunk by 60%.
Why TSMC? Packing relocated functions onto the base die requires an ultra-fine 3-nanometre process. The industry estimates TSMC's 3nm yield at more than 90%, against roughly 60% for Samsung FoundryDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s comparable 2nm SF2 process.
Why now? Supply cannot keep up. Investment bank UBS projects HBM demand next year at about 61.5 billion gigabits, a 91% rise on this year, against new shipments of just 54.6 billion gigabits — a shortfall of around 10%. Samsung's own base die capacity is limited, confined to Hwaseong Line 17 and part of its Pyeongtaek P3 line, so turning to TSMC adds capacity without waiting on new fabs.
What Samsung keeps in-house: Samsung accepted Nvidia's requirement after an internal review but plans to retain its own production model for standard HBM and custom products for other customers. It is also assessing whether Samsung Foundry could produce NVHBM base dies itself if demand outgrows TSMC's capacity.
The signal: Nvidia's design puts more logic into the HBM base die, making advanced foundry capability — not just memory capacity — a competitive factor, and shows Nvidia's leverage to set component standards across its memory suppliers.
Image credit: FritzchensFritz
Read more: Seoul Economic Daily · CNA
