Samsung Becomes World First to Mass Produce HBM4 Securing Lead in the AI Memory Race

 

Samsung Becomes World’s First to Mass Produce HBM4, Securing Lead in the AI Memory Race

Samsung Electronics has officially announced the commencement of mass production and initial shipping of its next-generation HBM4 (High Bandwidth Memory) to its first batch of customers. This achievement marks a significant milestone, positioning Samsung as the first memory manufacturer in the world to successfully deliver HBM4 technology to the market.

Breaking Speed and Capacity Barriers

The new HBM4 modules deliver a staggering data transfer rate of 11.7 Gbps, representing a 1.22x increase over the previous HBM3E standard, which clocked in at 9.6 Gbps.

• Scalable Density: Current configurations offer capacities ranging from 24GB to 36GB using advanced 12-layer stacking technology.

• Future Outlook: Samsung is already working toward a 48GB variant by implementing a 16-layer stack, pushing the limits of vertical memory integration.

Manufacturing Excellence and Roadmap

This success is built on Samsung’s 6th-generation 10nm-class DRAM process. The company confirmed that it has achieved a stable yield rate sufficient for large-scale mass production, ensuring a steady supply for high-demand AI data centers. Furthermore, the roadmap is already clear: Samsung plans to begin shipping samples of HBM4E an even more advanced iteration during the second half of 2026.

One of the key features of HBM4 is its shift from using entirely Samsung's own technology to employing a Foundry Process (e.g., 4nm) for manufacturing the "Base Die" (the bottom layer of RAM). This allows for faster and more energy-efficient connectivity with AI processors like NVIDIA or AMD.

The biggest challenge for 16-layer RAM is heat. Samsung has utilized a new interfacing technology called TC-NCF (Thermal Compression Non-Conductive Film) to improve heat dissipation even with massive data densities.

By 2026, the biggest challenge for AI won't be computational power, but the speed of data transfer between the processor and the memory wall. HBM4's speeds of up to 11.7 Gbps will significantly speed up the training of large LLM models (such as GPT-5 or Claude 5).

Despite the increased performance, HBM4 is designed to be approximately 20-30% more energy-efficient per gigabyte compared to its predecessor, a crucial factor for data centers seeking reduced power costs and environmental sustainability.

 

 

The Wait for S26 is Almost Over Samsung Set to Unveil The Next Galaxy AI in San Francisco.

 

Source: Samsung

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Samsung Becomes World’s First to Mass Produce HBM4, Securing Lead in the AI Memory Race

Samsung Electronics has officially announced the commencement of mass production and initial shipping of its next-generation HBM4 (High Bandwidth Memory) to its first batch of customers. This achievement marks a significant milestone, positioning Samsung as the first memory manufacturer in the world to successfully deliver HBM4 technology to the market.

Breaking Speed and Capacity Barriers

The new HBM4 modules deliver a staggering data transfer rate of 11.7 Gbps, representing a 1.22x increase over the previous HBM3E standard, which clocked in at 9.6 Gbps.

• Scalable Density: Current configurations offer capacities ranging from 24GB to 36GB using advanced 12-layer stacking technology.

• Future Outlook: Samsung is already working toward a 48GB variant by implementing a 16-layer stack, pushing the limits of vertical memory integration.

Manufacturing Excellence and Roadmap

This success is built on Samsung’s 6th-generation 10nm-class DRAM process. The company confirmed that it has achieved a stable yield rate sufficient for large-scale mass production, ensuring a steady supply for high-demand AI data centers. Furthermore, the roadmap is already clear: Samsung plans to begin shipping samples of HBM4E an even more advanced iteration during the second half of 2026.

One of the key features of HBM4 is its shift from using entirely Samsung's own technology to employing a Foundry Process (e.g., 4nm) for manufacturing the "Base Die" (the bottom layer of RAM). This allows for faster and more energy-efficient connectivity with AI processors like NVIDIA or AMD.

The biggest challenge for 16-layer RAM is heat. Samsung has utilized a new interfacing technology called TC-NCF (Thermal Compression Non-Conductive Film) to improve heat dissipation even with massive data densities.

By 2026, the biggest challenge for AI won't be computational power, but the speed of data transfer between the processor and the memory wall. HBM4's speeds of up to 11.7 Gbps will significantly speed up the training of large LLM models (such as GPT-5 or Claude 5).

Despite the increased performance, HBM4 is designed to be approximately 20-30% more energy-efficient per gigabyte compared to its predecessor, a crucial factor for data centers seeking reduced power costs and environmental sustainability.

 

 

The Wait for S26 is Almost Over Samsung Set to Unveil The Next Galaxy AI in San Francisco.

 

Source: Samsung