NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, dubbed “the king of artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors,” said on the 19th (local time) that he is “devastating Samsung Electronics’ high-bandwidth memory (HBM),” adding that Samsung is “a very extraordinary company.” His remarks pushed up Samsung Electronics’ stock price by nearly 6%. At the annual Nvidia Developer Conference GTC 2024 in San Jose, California, Hwang had a meeting with media from around the world and made the remarks. Nvidia is a company that makes graphics processing units (GPUs) that are essential for high-speed AI operations and monopolizes more than 80% of the global AI chip market. For this reason, the global semiconductor industry is divided over whether it is working with Nvidia.
HBM is essential to maximize Nvidia’s performance of AI GPUs, but SK Hynix currently supplies most of Nvidia’s requirements. Asked if he is using Samsung’s HBM, Hwang said, “I haven’t used it yet,” but added, “We are testing Samsung’s products (whether it can be installed on Nvidia GPUs) and have high expectations (for adoption).” “HBMs are like a very complex and difficult, technical miracle. They are humble,” he said.Asked when the same level of general-purpose artificial intelligence (AGI) as humans can come out, he predicted, “It will appear within five years,” but declined to say, “It depends on how you define this term.” Thanks to the “Jensen Huang Effect,” Samsung Electronics closed at 76,900 won (about $65) on the KOSPI on the 20th, up 5.63% from the previous day.
JENNIFER KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
