Samsung Electronics and Broadcom signed a memorandum of understanding on July 24 for a strategic partnership estimated at over $200 billion through 2030, covering high-bandwidth memory supply and advanced foundry services. Samsung will supply HBM4 and next-gen HBM4E memory to power Broadcom's next-generation AI accelerators, while its foundry arm manufactures Broadcom's products on 2-nanometer and below process nodes. The deal also covers advanced 2.3D and 2.5D packaging for tighter memory-to-logic integration.
The agreement reflects tight AI memory supply: global memory shortages have driven DRAM and NAND prices up 50–95% quarter-over-quarter in early 2026, with supply expected to remain constrained into 2027. Samsung, which fell behind on HBM yields initially, now codevelops HBM4E (targeting 64GB, 16-layer stacking, 16Gbps pins) to compete with SK Hynix's supply lock with Nvidia. Broadcom gains supply resilience and access to Samsung's vertically integrated memory and packaging capabilities for custom AI chips.
Part of a larger $950 billion Korea–US semiconductor cooperation package announced the same day—with SK Hynix committing $750 billion to Nvidia alone. For architects, this stabilizes HBM availability for non-Nvidia ecosystems (AMD, Broadcom custom accelerators) and signals Samsung's return as a credible premium memory supplier after years of losing share to competitors.