Samsung to use TSMC's 3nm process for Nvidia's custom HBM base dies, Seoul newspaper reports

Samsung Electronics will use TSM's 3-nanometre process to produce base dies for NVDA's next-generation custom high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the Seoul Economic Daily reported on Sunday, October 18, according to Reuters. The base die is the logic layer at the bottom of an HBM stack. The move would mark the first time Samsung has worked with the Taiwanese contract chipmaker at the HBM manufacturing stage. Samsung, TSMC and Nvidia did not comment on the report.

According to the report, Nvidia has asked Samsung, SK Hynix and MU to use TSMC's process for its custom "NVHBM" base dies, which integrate Nvidia's own memory controller, and to standardise core dies on sixth-generation DRAM. Samsung reportedly accepted the requirement after an internal review but plans to keep its in-house model for standard HBM and other customers, and is assessing whether its own foundry could produce NVHBM base dies if demand exceeds TSMC's capacity.

If accurate, the arrangement shifts more of the value in Nvidia's memory supply chain toward TSMC and narrows how far HBM suppliers can differentiate on the base die. For Samsung, it trades some foundry ambition for a firmer position as an Nvidia memory supplier. The report does not say which Nvidia product generation the memory is for, and no market reaction was reported, since it landed on a Sunday.

What to watch: confirmation from any of the three companies, whether SK Hynix and Micron describe similar arrangements, and Samsung's memory commentary at its third-quarter results.