[Edaily Reporter Kim So-yeon] SK Hynix is further strengthening its partnership with TSMC, the world’s leading foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) company. This move is intended to secure a leading position in the burgeoning custom high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market and the competition for artificial intelligence (AI) memory.

According to SK Group and other sources on the 4th, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won met with TSMC Chairman Wei-Jer-Ja in Taiwan on the 3rd (local time). The two leaders met for the first time in two years since June 2024 to share insights on next-generation AI technology trends and discuss ways to lead the future AI ecosystem.

While on a business trip to Taiwan, Chairman Choi met with TSMC Chairman Wei-Jer-Tzu following his meeting with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, reaffirming the “SK Hynix-TSMC-NVIDIA” AI semiconductor alliance. CEO Huang visited the SK Hynix exhibition booth during Computex for the second consecutive year, following his visit last year, and met with Chairman Choi to showcase the cooperative relationship between the two companies.

Chairman Choi met with reporters at the SK Hynix booth at Computex on the 2nd (local time) and said, “We are working with TSMC and have established the best partnership.” Regarding the relationship with NVIDIA, he emphasized, “It is a friendship based on mutual trust and dependence,” adding, “We will move forward together for a long time based on this solid partnership.”

To date, SK Hynix and TSMC have built the NVIDIA AI accelerator ecosystem through close collaboration. A three-way partnership has been established in which TSMC manufactures state-of-the-art AI graphics processing units (GPUs) designed by NVIDIA using advanced process technology, and SK Hynix supplies HBM, which is then integrated into the final AI accelerators using TSMC’s advanced packaging (CoWoS) process.

◇ HBM4: Cooperation Between SK Hynix and TSMC Becomes Even More Critical

In particular, starting with HBM4—the sixth-generation HBM—the boundary between memory and foundry becomes even more blurred. This is because logic processes are applied to the base die at the bottom of the HBM stack. The base die is directly connected to the GPU and serves as its “brain.” SK Hynix has been utilizing TSMC’s cutting-edge logic processes for HBM4 and beyond. Consequently, the importance of collaboration between the two companies grows significantly to ensure competitive memory performance.

In the era of custom HBM, the role of the base die will expand further. This is because functions tailored to customer requirements must be implemented on the logic die. SK Hynix has begun securing competitiveness in customized products by applying TSMC’s 12-nanometer process to HBM4.

It is reported that SK Hynix is prioritizing the application of TSMC’s cutting-edge 3-nanometer process to the base die of HBM4E, the seventh-generation HBM, as well as future custom HBM products. This is a strategy to maintain a competitive edge in the race for the logic die, which serves as the “brain” of HBM. As the custom HBM market begins to take off in earnest, the ability to rapidly supply customer-tailored products will become increasingly important, and the partnership between SK Hynix and TSMC is expected to grow even closer.

Furthermore, competition with Samsung Electronics, which is promoting a turnkey system, is intensifying. In the HBM memory sector, Samsung Electronics is emphasizing a "one-stop" supply system that encompasses memory, foundry, and advanced packaging. Samsung Electronics will apply its own 2-nanometer foundry-based die to HBM5, the 8th-generation HBM. While previous generations up to HBM4E used 4-nanometer dies, the company explains that it has achieved technological differentiation by adopting a leading-edge process.

◇ Strengthening Cooperation on Custom HBM and Big Tech’s In-House AI Chips… “To Secure Market Leadership”
SK Hynix and TSMC plan to expand their cooperation beyond next-generation HBM development to include advanced packaging, aiming to jointly respond to changes in the global AI market.

Recently, as global big tech companies have begun developing their own AI-specific application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to reduce their dependence on NVIDIA, the scope of cooperation between SK Hynix and TSMC has also been expanding. During this meeting, the two companies reaffirmed their commitment to securing a leading position in the custom AI memory market to meet the diverse needs of global big tech clients.

Chairman Choi stated, “The more we expand our AI business, the better, and we need more partnerships in Taiwan,” hinting at his intention to enhance AI memory competitiveness through Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem.

On the 3rd, Chairman Choi met with Foxconn Chairman Liu Yang-wei and executives in Taipei to discuss cooperation strategies for strengthening competitiveness in next-generation AI infrastructure. Foxconn is the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and a key player supplying AI servers to global big tech companies. By actively pursuing cooperation with key players in the global AI ecosystem, Chairman Choi is strengthening strategic partnerships to secure a leading position in the future AI market.