AMD CEO says S. Korea key partner in AI chips

Lisa Su, AMD's CEO, underscored the significance of collaborations with South Korean chipmakers during her visit to Seoul, emphasizing AMD's intent to explore memory and foundry opportunities. Su, alongside Jack Huynh, highlighted the critical role of South Korea in the AI hardware ecosystem, stressing ongoing discussions with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix Inc. The trip is Su's second to Seoul in the past seven months, reflecting South Korea's pivotal position as both a supplier and consumer of AI hardware.

Further engagements with Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun and SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung are planned as global memory shortages hinder AI infrastructure growth. Su noted the necessity of teamwork across memory and foundry sectors, citing strong support from Samsung in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), including a March supply agreement for advanced memory chips.

Samsung's HBM3E and HBM4, used in AMD's latest AI accelerators, have cemented their partnership. The potential for joint contract chip manufacturing with Samsung in response to AMD's expanding AI accelerator demands has also emerged.