Seoul: Chey Tae-won, chairman of the semiconductor-to-energy conglomerate SK Group, has emphasized the significance of a trilateral partnership with Nvidia Corp. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to strengthen the global artificial intelligence (AI) chip industry supply chain.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Chey highlighted this collaboration during his keynote speech at the AI Summit 2024 in Seoul. He underscored the transformative impact of AI on society and the necessity for strategic partnerships to navigate the challenges and opportunities it presents. Chey acknowledged the pivotal role of the collaboration between Microsoft and OpenAI in ushering in the AI era with innovations like ChatGPT, emphasizing the need for broad participation and cooperation to shape a future led by AI.

Chey pointed to SK Group’s affiliate, SK hynix, as a critical supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, essential for AI computing. He discussed the ongoing collaboration between SK hynix and Nvidia, who
se AI accelerators are indispensable for data centers and AI computing infrastructure. Since March, SK hynix has been supplying Nvidia with its fifth-generation HBM3E chips and recently commenced mass production of its advanced 12-layer HBM3E chips.

Chey revealed that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang requested an expedited supply schedule for the upcoming HBM4 chips during their latest meeting. SK hynix plans to ship 12-high HBM4 products next year and aims to launch 16-high HBM4 products by 2026. Chey’s keynote speech also highlighted the vital partnership with TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor contract manufacturing company, reinforcing the importance of manufacturing capabilities in the chip supply chain.

The AI Summit 2024 also featured video messages from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and TSMC CEO C.C. Wei, alongside an online conversation between Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Professor David Patterson from UC Berkeley.