AMD's Lisa Su meets Samsung and SK hynix chip chiefs in Seoul on AI cooperation
In short
AMD chief executive Lisa Su met Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jun Young-hyun and other Samsung chip executives over dinner at Samsung's Seocho office in Seoul on October 7, and afterwards said they had "a very good discussion" and would cooperate in many areas. She also reportedly met SK hynix chief executive Kwak Noh-jung the same afternoon. Samsung is AMD's priority supplier of HBM4 memory for its Instinct MI455X AI accelerator, and outlets said the talks could extend to foundry work.
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AMD chief executive and chair Lisa Su met Jun Young-hyun, Samsung Electronics' vice chairman and head of its Device Solutions (DS) chip division, and other senior Samsung executives at the company's Seocho office in Seoul on October 7, and had dinner with them. The Chosun Ilbo and the Korea Economic Daily said the meeting lasted about three hours. Yonhap and Asia Economy said Su arrived around 5 p.m.; the Chosun Ilbo put her arrival at about 4:44 p.m. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Asked beforehand what she would discuss, Su said she would talk about "our broader partnership." Afterwards she told reporters, according to the Korea Economic Daily, that AMD would cooperate with Samsung "in very diverse areas" and that they had "a very good discussion." On foundry, she said the companies maintain a very broad cooperative relationship overall; the Chosun Ilbo noted she gave no specifics on foundry progress. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Samsung DS memory strategic marketing head Kim Jae-joon (김재준) and DS Americas head Cho Sang-yeon (조상연) greeted Su. AMD chief technology officer Joseph Macri (조셉 마크리) and Jack Huynh (잭 후인), senior vice president in charge of the computing and graphics group, accompanied her. [ 1 , 2 ]
Samsung supplies HBM3E and HBM4 memory for AMD's AI accelerators, and AMD earlier named Samsung the priority HBM4 supplier for its Instinct MI455X accelerator. The Korea Economic Daily reported that Su said she was very satisfied with HBM4 and was urging Samsung to ramp up production, and that she expects the HBM partnership to span several generations. She named the memory supply crunch as the main reason for the trip, saying that with complex supply chains it is essential to plan with partners three to five years ahead. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
Outlets said cooperation could extend to foundry work. Yonhap said winning AMD as a customer could speed Samsung's foundry return to profit, and the Korea Economic Daily cited industry views that TSMC's advanced capacity is effectively saturated. The Korea Economic Daily also reported that the two companies explored expanding AI memory supply. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
Su also reportedly met SK hynix chief executive Kwak Noh-jung that afternoon, reportedly their first meeting in Korea. Earlier, she attended a roundtable with the Ministry of Science and ICT and Korean AI chip companies at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno-gu, where she met second vice minister Ryu Je-myung (류제명), and the AMD Gamer Day at Dragon City. On a visit in March, Su toured Samsung's Pyeongtaek campus with Jun and foundry head Han Jin-man and dined with Samsung chairman Lee Jae-yong. [ 1 , 2 ]
Why it matters
According to the Korea Economic Daily, Su named a memory supply crunch as the main reason for the trip and said companies must plan with partners three to five years ahead; the paper said surging AI-driven memory demand has made the supply chain more important. Outlets noted that winning AMD as a foundry customer could help Samsung's contract chipmaking business, but no foundry deal was announced.
Key facts
- Lisa Su met Samsung Electronics vice chairman and Device Solutions head Jun Young-hyun and other senior executives at Samsung's Seocho office in Seoul on October 7 and had dinner with them. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The meeting with Jun lasted about three hours, according to the Chosun Ilbo and the Korea Economic Daily. [ 3 , 4 ]
- Su also reportedly met SK hynix chief executive Kwak Noh-jung that afternoon; it was reportedly their first meeting in Korea. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Samsung supplies HBM3E and HBM4 memory for AMD's AI accelerators. [ 1 , 2 ]
- AMD earlier named Samsung the priority supplier of HBM4 for its Instinct MI455X AI accelerator. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- Su said after the meeting that they had "a very good discussion"; the Korea Economic Daily also quoted her as saying AMD would cooperate with Samsung "in very diverse areas." [ 3 , 4 ]
- Su named the memory supply crunch as the main reason for her visit to Korea. [ 4 ]
- Earlier the same day Su attended a roundtable with the Ministry of Science and ICT and Korean AI chip companies and the AMD Gamer Day event. [ 1 , 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Su met Jun Young-hyun and other Samsung Electronics executives at the Seocho office on October 7 and had dinner with them. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Su said she would talk with Samsung about "our broader partnership." [ 1 , 2 ]
- Su met SK hynix chief executive Kwak Noh-jung the same day, according to reports. [ 1 , 2 ]
- AMD designated Samsung as the priority HBM4 supplier for the Instinct MI455X AI accelerator. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- Su said she had a very good discussion with Samsung. [ 3 , 4 ]
- Su attended a roundtable at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno-gu with the Ministry of Science and ICT and Korean AI chip companies, and the AMD Gamer Day at Dragon City in Yongsan-gu. [ 1 , 2 ]
Still unclear
- Whether AMD and Samsung will cooperate on foundry (contract chip manufacturing). Outlets raised the possibility, but Su gave no specifics on foundry progress and only said the companies have a very broad cooperative relationship.
- What Su and SK hynix's Kwak Noh-jung discussed. Yonhap and Asia Economy say only that the meeting reportedly took place and that it was reportedly their first meeting in Korea; no details were given.
- When Su arrived at Samsung's office. Yonhap and Asia Economy say around 5 p.m., while the Chosun Ilbo says about 4:44 p.m.
- Which district the Samsung Seocho office is in. Yonhap and Asia Economy place it in Gangnam-gu, while the Chosun Ilbo places it in Seocho-gu.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Su attends the AMD Gamer Day at Dragon City in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. [ 1 ]
- Su arrives at Samsung Electronics' Seocho office, according to the Chosun Ilbo. [ 3 ]
- Su meets Jun Young-hyun and other Samsung executives and has dinner with them, according to Yonhap and Asia Economy (around 5 p.m.). [ 1 , 2 ]
- The Chosun Ilbo reports that Su said she had a very good discussion after an about three-hour dinner meeting. [ 3 ]