Samsung Turns to TSMC Process for Nvidia's Next-Gen Memory

Samsung will use TSMC technology for next-generation memory chips destined for Nvidia, according to a report carried by Asharq Al-Awsat's English edition. The arrangement, if confirmed in detail, links three companies that usually compete directly. Samsung supplies memory. TSMC supplies logic foundry capacity. Nvidia buys both.

The report identifies the deal at the level of technology selection. Samsung would fabricate the advanced memory product using TSMC's process technology. That marks a departure from Samsung's standard practice of keeping memory production inside its own foundry and packaging network.

Why would Samsung use a rival's process?

The reported arrangement reflects how high-bandwidth memory has changed. Modern HBM stacks pair DRAM layers with a logic base die. The memory maker controls the DRAM. The base die increasingly requires leading-edge logic processing that Nvidia specifies.

Samsung has its own foundry division. It has invested heavily in advanced nodes. But Nvidia has qualified TSMC processes for its accelerator roadmaps for years. If Nvidia requires a TSMC-processed component, the memory supplier must comply to win the socket.

The report does not specify the process node, wafer size, volumes, or revenue involved. It also does not state whether the deal covers a full product family or a single generation.

What does this mean for the three companies?

For Samsung, the decision is pragmatic. Nvidia is the largest buyer of high-bandwidth memory for AI accelerators. Securing that demand outweighs the optics of feeding work to its principal foundry competitor. Samsung's memory division and its foundry division answer to different customers, and this deal serves the memory side.

For TSMC, the arrangement extends its reach beyond logic chips into the memory supply chain. It captures value on a component it does not sell. Each additional node where Nvidia mandates TSMC processing strengthens that leverage.

For Nvidia, the deal reduces single-supplier risk on a critical component. It also keeps process control at the foundry it trusts for leading-edge silicon.

What remains unconfirmed?

Several commercial details stay open:

• The specific process node TSMC would apply to the component
• Whether production has started or remains at qualification stage
• The allocation of packaging work between Samsung and TSMC
• Financial terms and target volumes

Asharq Al-Awsat did not attribute the report to named executives or disclose procurement documents. Treat capacity and timing claims as unconfirmed until Samsung, TSMC, or Nvidia comment on the record.

How does this fit the wider memory race?

High-bandwidth memory has become the binding constraint on AI accelerator shipments. SK Hynix currently leads the HBM market for Nvidia's current generation. Samsung has chased that lead through successive qualification rounds.

A willingness to use TSMC technology signals how far Samsung will go to close the gap. Competitive positioning in HBM now turns not only on DRAM yield and stacking but on the logic layer beneath the stack.

The report gives no pricing or shipment guidance. Analysts tracking the sector will watch for a formal announcement, a named node, and the first confirmed production lots.

If the arrangement proceeds as reported, Samsung gains a path back into Nvidia's next-generation memory supply, and TSMC gains a foothold in a product category it has never directly sold.