[Edaily Reporter SOYEON KIM ] SamsungElectronics participated in “FMS (Future of Memory and Storage) 2026,” held from the 4th to the 6th (local time) at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California, USA, and became the first in the industry to unveil mock-ups of its next-generation 3D memory architectures, zHBM and zNAND-O. The company presented its vision for next-generation AI memory technology.

SamsungElectronics announced on the 5th that it had secured the largest exhibition space at FMS 2026—measuring approximately 20 pyeong—and unveiled a booth designed to resemble an AI cloud server. The company showcased about 30 products centered on its broad memory portfolio, ranging from DRAM to NAND flash and storage, to introduce core AI memory technologies and customer-tailored solutions.

On the first day of the event, the 4th (local time), Lee Jin-yeop, Vice President of the Flash Development Division, and Kim Kyung-ryun, Senior Vice President of the DRAM Development Division, delivered keynote speeches on the topic of “Innovations in 3D Memory and Storage Architectures Driving the AI Revolution.” They presented next-generation 3D memory technologies, such as zHBM and zNAND-O, as solutions to resolve AI memory bottlenecks. This represents a technological vision aimed at maximizing the performance and power efficiency of AI systems. Notably, during the keynote, the company unveiled the industry’s first V10 BV-NAND with over 400 layers, highlighting its competitive edge in next-generation NAND technology.

As the adoption of high-performance computing (HPC) and AI infrastructure expands, the demand for high-capacity, high-bandwidth memory is increasing; existing HBM alone has limitations in delivering the performance levels required in the future.

In response, SamsungElectronics has proposed zHBM as an alternative. zHBM is a next-generation architecture that goes a step beyond the conventional approach of placing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) next to an AI accelerator (xPU), instead vertically stacking HBM on top of the AI accelerator. It takes the form of placing HBM on top of a graphics processing unit (GPU). By minimizing the distance data must travel between the AI accelerator and the memory, it increases bandwidth and power efficiency.

As the AI inference market expands rapidly and the volume of data to be processed surges, competition for next-generation AI memory technologies that offer both bandwidth and capacity scalability is heating up.

Next-generation interface systems incorporating zHBM deliver up to eight times the performance of HBM5. zHBM is a 3D memory solution that supports customer-specific designs. Samsung plans to maximize zHBM’s performance by optimizing the interaction between AI processors and memory through collaboration with customers.

SamsungElectronics has also presented its vision for 3D memory architecture in the NAND sector. zNAND-O is a next-generation high-performance NAND flash solution currently under development by SamsungElectronics. It utilizes the vertical stacking technology of existing V-NAND and combines it with through-silicon via (TSV) technology to create 3D-packaged semiconductor chips with 4 or 8 layers. The ‘-O’ at the end of the product name indicates that it is optimized for on-device AI environments.

At the exhibition, SamsungElectronics unveiled the industry’s first 10th-generation V-NAND, “V10 BV-NAND,” featuring over 400 layers of vertical stacking. This achievement is a testament to the company’s technological innovation since it first announced V-NAND technology at the same event 13 years ago.

V10 BV-NAND enhances performance and power efficiency based on an ultra-high-stacked structure of over 400 layers. It improves memory density by approximately 58% compared to the previous generation (V9), enabling the storage of more data within the same area.

In addition, the company showcased next-generation memory and storage solutions optimized for high-performance computing and AI data centers, including △HBM4E, △HBM5, △LPDDR5X-PIM, and △PM1763.

SamsungElectronics continues to strengthen its technological competitiveness to lead the next-generation HBM market; for example, in February, it became the first in the industry to begin mass production and shipment of HBM4 featuring 1c DRAM and 4-nanometer base die technology, and in May, it became the first in the world to supply HBM4E samples to customers. At this event, the company exhibited next-generation AI platforms and wafers featuring HBM4E, and unveiled a mock-up of HBM5, which delivers higher bandwidth and capacity through the application of HPB (Heat Path Block), a new thermal management technology.

LPDDR5X-PIM is the world’s first product of its kind developed by SamsungElectronics; it is a next-generation memory product that performs computations within the memory itself to optimize data movement and improve power efficiency.

SamsungElectronics is an integrated device manufacturer (IDM) covering memory, logic, foundry, and packaging. As a semiconductor company capable of driving innovation in next-generation memory technology and providing one-stop solutions, the company plans to strengthen its leadership in semiconductor technology for the AI era through differentiated solutions.