Samsung Electronics Co is replacing the head of its semiconductor arm, appointing a longtime memorychip veteran to spearhead efforts to catch up with SK Hynix Inc in the booming artificial intelligence (AI) arena.
Samsung named Jun Young-hyun the new leader of its most important business line. He replaces Kyung Kye-hyun, who is to head up Samsung’s Advanced Institute of Technology and the future business team.
Jun, 63, joined the division in 2000 and helped the company develop its basic DRAM and flash memory chips for smartphones and servers.
Photo: Bloomberg
The appointment comes after Kyung offered to step down from his post, a person familiar with the matter said.
Samsung has fallen behind SK Hynix in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, which have seen explosive growth because they are used for training AI models such as ChatGPT.
“It’s unusual for Samsung to do this management change in the middle of the year,” CLSA Securities Korea Ltd analyst Sanjeev Rana said. “This highlights Samsung’s desperate attempt to inject new energy and fresh thinking into its semiconductor business, where its lead has been slipping away.”
In addition, Jun’s appointment comes at an age when most Samsung executives retire, Rana said.
“His expertise was deemed necessary to help Samsung navigate the current challenging situation,” he said.
SK Hynix is the biggest supplier of memory used to develop ChatGPT-like services around the world. Its production capacity for such chips is almost fully booked through next year.
The firm plans to spend about US$14.6 billion building a new complex in South Korea to meet demand for HBM chips, which work alongside Nvidia Corp accelerators in creating and hosting AI platforms. It is also building a US$4 billion packaging facility in Indiana — its first in the US.
Samsung, which also makes logic chips and operates a foundry business, has also embarked on a global expansion that encompasses a US$40 billion investment in US chipmaking.
In the foundry business, Samsung has struggled to win big customers and narrow Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (台積電) overwhelming lead in producing advanced chips.
Samsung has begun mass production of its latest HBM product, eight-layer HBM3E, and says it plans to mass produce 12-layer HBM chips in the second quarter of this year.
The company expects its supply of HBM to increase by at least three times this year compared with last year.
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