Chips & Supply · United States

HBM4 Demand Holds Firm As Rubin Keeps 12 Layers

Credited to Business Korea · businesskorea.co.kr · 3h ago

Samsung and SK hynix Are Set to Benefit as HBM4 Mass Production Expands While Counterpoint Says Demand Concerns Are Overstated

Analysis indicates that the 6th-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM4) equipped in Nvidia’s next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator ‘Rubin’ will remain centered on 12-layer configurations. This suggests that concerns over slowing memory demand due to a reduction in HBM stacking layers are exaggerated.

As Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have begun mass production of HBM4, expanding demand for high-value-added memory is expected to support the earnings growth of the two companies.

On Oct. 8, market research firm Counterpoint Research announced the results of its internal review regarding the recently raised rumors of reduced HBM capacity, stating, “The concern about slowing memory demand is a misunderstanding.” The assessment is that confidence in memory demand growth has actually strengthened in October.

Some industry voices claimed that Nvidia requested major HBM suppliers to lower the number of stacked layers from the existing 12 to 8. This prompted forecasts that if HBM capacity decreases, the production of commodity DRAM will increase, which could lead to a drop in memory prices.

However, Counterpoint Research analyzed that most products equipped with Rubin are actually converging toward a 12-layer configuration.

This is because securing the memory bandwidth and capacity necessary for data processing is more important than cost reduction in AI computing. The firm explained that, contrary to concerns, 4-layer products have not been observed in the ASIC market either.

Counterpoint Research viewed that if HBM demand is maintained, the supply shortage of commodity DRAM is also highly likely to continue. HBM production requires more than three times the production capacity of commodity DRAM. Expanding HBM production restricts commodity DRAM supply, creating a structure that supports memory prices.

In its preliminary third-quarter earnings released on Oct. 8, Samsung Electronics announced that it recorded 195 trillion won (about $145 billion) in revenue and 107.4 trillion won in operating profit. These figures represent increases of 126.6% and 782.5%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. It is the first time a domestic company’s quarterly operating profit has exceeded 100 trillion won.

Counterpoint Research identified exchange rates as the reason there was no massive earnings surprise recently seen in semiconductor companies, despite the record-high performance. The firm explained that because Samsung Electronics has a high share of dollar-denominated revenue, a sharp drop in the dollar-won exchange rate imposes a burden of reduced won-converted profits.

Counterpoint Research stated, “The concern about slowing memory demand is a misunderstanding,” and forecast, “There is a possibility that Samsung Electronics’ record-high performance will not end as a one-time event.”

Chips & SupplyUnited States

AI Spending Questions Persist as Washington Targets Tech Visas

Credited to Bloomberg$ · bloomberg.com4h ago

Useful

Bloomberg’s Ed Ludlow breaks down the Trump administration's decision to suspend an immigration program for multiple tech firms, including Microsoft, alleging widespread abuse of that worker visa system. Plus: Samsung's quarterly profit jumps and TSMC sales surge, but investors…

View the article · $Bloomberg

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Chips & Supply · United States

Oracle, Broadcom, and SpaceX looking to secure ten of billions in financing to support AI compute purchases – report

Credited to Data Center Dynamics · datacenterdynamics.com · 7h ago

Photograph · Data Center Dynamics

Broadcom is seeking $50bn, while SpaceX is looking to secure $40bn

Oracle, Broadcom, and SpaceX are looking to secure large-scale financing deals to fund future AI compute hardware purchases, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

The news outlet said that in recent weeks, Broadcom has been seeking more than $50 billion to support the ongoing development of the custom AI chip it has partnered with OpenAI on.

Meanwhile, Oracle is reportedly in talks with private equity firm Apollo and Goldman Sachs, and SpaceX is looking to arrange a $40bn chip financing deal for the purchase of Nvidia hardware, the report added.

The deal Broadcom is looking to broker could include “several gigawatts of OpenAI chip capacity,” the WSJ said, and is slated to close before the end of the year. Few details about the agreement Oracle is looking to secure were disclosed, but the report noted that the financing is intended to help the company bridge the gap between when it has to pay for the hardware and when its cloud computing revenue starts coming in.

A separate report from the FT this week said that SpaceX is seeking to raise $10bn in bank loans and $30bn in investment-grade debt to fund the purchases, noting that Apollo is expected to lead the deal and help sell the debt. The transaction is expected to close in 2027.

The report comes in the same week that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X that the company has held talks with Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC regarding the former's $16.8 billion TeraFab project in Grimes County, Texas.

October 3, Musk said that so far there had been “just discussions, but something may come of it.” Later that same week, in response to speculation about how the potential partnership might look, Musk said: “[SpaceX] will build and run the fab … Maybe TSMC subleases part of the TeraFab if they want, but nothing more than that.”

SpaceX is planning to invest $16.8bn in the proposed fab in Grimes County, Texas. In August 2026, Musk claimed that, once built, “it will be the largest and most valuable building on Earth by far,” adding that “TeraFab will be 50 times the size of the Pentagon when complete.”

Earlier this year, Nvidia overtook Apple as TSMC’s largest customer.