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Samsung zHBM Roadmap Ultimately Stacks DRAM Directly Above the Processor

The Hot Take: AGAIN, suddenly we explain this to the world, is this to head off all the questions on where the DRAM supply is going? Coordinated.

Samsung has outlined an ambitious three-stage roadmap for High Bandwidth Memory, culminating in an architecture called zHBM that effectively merges memory and compute into the same vertically integrated package.

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Exynos 2700 beats the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro in internal testing, insiders say

The Hot Take: Nice if that's the case, and big trouble for Qualcomm too.

Internal tests of the Exynos 2700 have Samsung LSI buzzing – the chipset outperformed Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 (both of them, actually), according to anonymous insiders. The testing was pretty thorough and included CPU, GPU, NPU and power efficiency benchmarks. First, let’s clear this up – Qualcomm has officially confirmed that there will be two Elite chips in the next generation. They are tentatively being called the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro. This is separate from the non-Elite Gen 6 chip, by the way.…

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Samsung Chases TSMC With Quantum Computing-Powered Chipmaking as AI Reshapes the Most Critical Step in Fabrication

The Hot Take: Samsung playing catch up and hopefully over take TSMC? Only time will tell.

Korean chip manufacturing giant Samsung is developing simulation technologies for lithography that rely on quantum computing and artificial intelligence, suggests a report from the Korean press. The technology will be used to run simulations of the first stage of the chip manufacturing process, and Samsung will also rely on artificial intelligence to streamline the process. Through the technology, the firm aims to reduce the time and cost of the lithography and etching processes. Samsung Is Developing Algorithms To Boost Its Photolithography,…

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Major RAM manufacturers sued for manipulating prices and demand

The Hot Take: About time. I've been saying they should have one for a while.

The big story in computing these days is how an ongoing shortage of RAM (dubbed RAMageddon or the RAMpocalypse) has led to massive increases in hardware costs. The conventional explanation of the situation has been that shortages have been driven by the widespread construction of AI data centers. However, a new lawsuit (Garciaguirre et al. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., et al.) filed against RAM manufacturers Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, alleges that these companies are exploiting market conditions to artificially inflate prices.

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Samsung's Texas fab gains momentum with the arrival of ASML engineers

The Hot Take: More manufacturing states side is good.

Samsung Electronics' foundry plant in Taylor, Texas, is showing signs of moving into equipment-level execution. Key engineers from ASML Korea, the Dutch lithography equipment giant's South Korean unit, have been dispatched to the Taylor facility and are expected to remain on site for roughly six to eight weeks, according to Korean industry publication DealSite.

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Samsung to begin mass production at its US chip factory in 2027

The Hot Take: Domestic manufacturing is key.

Samsung's multi-billion dollar advanced chipmaking factory located in Taylor, Texas, is ready to start mass production of chips for clients. The company has confirmed that everything is ready and that mass production of advanced chips for customers will begin next year. 2nm process advancement is underway as well Margaret Han, Vice President of Samsung's foundry division in the US, said during the Samsung Advanced Foundry Ecosystem Forum held at the company's US headquarters yesterday that “We are ready.” She…

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Apple Eyes Intel and Samsung as Backup US Chipmakers

The Hot Take: MacRumors posting about it give it more merrit to me.

Apple has held "exploratory" talks with Intel and Samsung about manufacturing the main processors for its devices in the United States, reports Bloomberg ($). Apple is said to have had early-stage talks with Intel about using its chipmaking services, while Apple executives have reportedly visited a Samsung plant under construction in Texas that will also make advanced chips. The talks are said to be preliminary, and no orders have been made so far, according to the report's sources who asked not to be identified.…

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Apple Quietly Courts Intel And Samsung For Its Most Critical Chips As TSMC’s Advanced Nodes Remain Choked Under AI Demand

The Hot Take: USA domestic manufacturing is taking off, TSMC announcing huge expansions in Arizona. Intel getting that Federal injection is definitely keeping them alive and making them relevant again. Probably also why Nvidia dumped money into Intel too to make sure there is choice states side.

TSMC is turning into a victim of its own success as the world's preferred chip foundry, leaving its heretofore prized customers such as Apple in a bind of sorts as they suddenly find themselves crowded out by AI hyperscalers. In its frustration, Apple is now reportedly exploring the possibility of dividing up its silicon load between Samsung, Intel, and TSMC rather than remaining largely TSMC-exclusive. Apple is looking for contingencies by tentatively probing Intel and Samsung as additional vectors for manufacturing its custom chips According…

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