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AMD chief executive Lisa Su visited South Korea less than seven months after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Samsung regarding memory supply. The non-binding agreement, signed in March, covered four areas including the supply of next-generation HBM4 and advanced DDR5 memory, co-development for AI systems, exploration of foundry manufacturing opportunities, and co-optimization of packaging technologies. While this MOU remains effective for three years, AMD is now seeking to secure additional HBM memory specifically for its AI accelerators as demand remains extremely high.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are identified by Su as key supply-chain partners. She stated that the company plans its long-term supply chain with these partners three to five years ahead. Although Samsung has become a principal supplier of HBM4 for AMD’s Instinct MI400-series accelerators, expanding collaboration into foundry chip production is considered complicated. This involves designing chips for Samsung Foundry’s process technologies and carries risks associated with product ramp-ups at new contract chipmakers.

AMD acknowledged in its most recent Annual Report that transitioning production to new manufacturers may result in delayed introductions, lower yields, or poorer performance. The company already uses Samsung Foundry and UMC for programmable logic devices but is currently shipping Instinct MI455 accelerators with 432GB of HBM4 memory onboard. Su confirmed that these next-generation systems utilize HBM4 technology. While AMD negotiates for more memory supply, the decision to adopt Samsung Foundry for more serious products remains uncertain due to potential risks.