Generative AI has sparked a once-in-a-generation surge in memory sales and semiconductor production, but Samsung Electronics has managed to botch it, leading to Wednesday’s announcement that it had appointed a new senior executive for its memory and foundry business. Ta.
Interest in AI has led the likes of Nvidia to record 94% year-over-year revenue growth, while Dell reported a 58% increase in server and network revenue. By contrast, Samsung recently apologized to investors after its profits plummeted. One reason for this is what Jaejoong Kim, vice president of memory, described as a “delay in commercialization” that is affecting the high-speed HBM memory needed to run AI.
Samsung Electronics has announced that it will appoint Yong Hyun-joon, former vice chairman and head of the device solutions division, as CEO and head of the memory business and Samsung Advanced Technology Research Institute, so Kim will have a new role. Looks like you’ve got a boss.
Mr. Han Jin-man has been promoted to president and will be in charge of the foundry business. His resume seems suitable for the job. He has worked on DRAM and flash memory design teams, led SSD development, and previously served as EVP and President of the US Device Solutions Division.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s foundry business created the position of chief technology officer and appointed Seok Woo Nam to the position.
The electronics giant also created a future business unit led by Hansung Ko, CEO of Samsung’s pharmaceutical company Bioepis.
One of the key jobs for all of the new executives will be to ensure Samsung can produce the HBM4 memory needed for Nvidia’s next-generation Rubin GPUs. The Korean megalith struggled to get HBM3 out in time for Nvidia’s Blackwell parts, which was a huge missed opportunity.
Improving Samsung’s foundry services (which, like almost all companies, are inferior to TSMC’s) will also help it win more customers and reduce the giant’s dependence on competitors for the silicon it needs for its products. Therefore, it is likely to become a topic of discussion. ®
