Samsung reveals zHBM: future RAM is stacked above AI accelerator, boasts 8x performance of HBM5 and 3x energy efficiency

Q: What energy efficiency and thermal benefits does Samsung attribute to zHBM?

Samsung says zHBM enhances energy efficiency threefold compared with HBM5 and reduces thermal resistance by more than half. It also cuts the distance data must travel by stacking memory above the AI accelerator, yielding higher bandwidth and better power efficiency.

Q: What is zNAND-O and how does its stacking approach target edge AI use cases?

zNAND-O is Samsung's next-gen 3D NAND concept that applies the same "z" vertical stacking idea to NAND, using Samsung V-NAND technology in four- and eight-layer stacked versions to deliver better performance and lower latency. Its stacking approach reduces data travel and latency, and it is explicitly optimized for edge AI environments that support real-time, data-intensive AI applications.

Q: Are there any release dates or product availability timelines for zHBM or zNAND-O mentioned?

No. The article states both zHBM and zNAND-O are only at the concept stage and explicitly says there are no release dates for these early working concepts.

Q: What limitations or caveats does the article note about the current development stage of zHBM and zNAND-O?

The article notes zHBM and zNAND-O are only at the concept stage with details scarce. It says they are early working concepts with no release dates and are still a long way out. These caveats emphasize that the technologies are not yet mature or commercially available.

At the Future of Memory and Storage conference, Samsung has been showing off next-gen 3D memory architectures including zHBM and zNAND-O.

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Darren Allan

Tech Reporter

Published Aug 5, 2026 9:20 AM CDT

1 minute & 15 seconds read time

TL;DR: Samsung showcased next-gen 3D memory architectures at the FMS 2026 show in California, including zHBM where the RAM is stacked directly on top of the AI accelerator, which produces some truly eye-opening performance boosts - and better efficiency too. The company also showed off zNAND-O which offers major performance boosts and lower latency for edge AI environments.

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Samsung has been showing off a future innovation for memory in the form of zHBM, among other revelations at the Future of Memory and Storage (FMS) conference.

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FMS 2026 is happening in Santa Clara, California, where, as VideoCardz spotted, Samsung introduced us to both zHBM and zNAND-O which are next-gen 3D memory architectures, albeit they are only at the concept stage right now.

Given that, details are scarce, but as the 'z' suggests, this tech is about stacking vertically (on the Z-axis). In the case of zHBM, this is a new take on HBM where the memory is directly stacked above the AI accelerator (as opposed to being placed alongside the processor as is the case currently).

Read more: SK hynix reportedly making High Bandwidth Storage (HBS): stacked chips for next-gen smartphones

This cuts down the distance that data has to travel between the AI processor and the memory, with zHBM offering a higher bandwidth and better power-efficiency.

Samsung claims that:

"A next-generation interface system incorporating zHBM is expected to deliver approximately eight times the performance of HBM5. With next-generation wafer bonding technology, zHBM can achieve more than 10 times the memory density of HBM5 while enhancing energy efficiency threefold and reducing thermal resistance by more than half, maximizing the stability and power efficiency of high-capacity, high-bandwidth systems."

In short, Samsung is promising a major leap forward.

As for zNAND-O, this is a take in a similar vein for NAND. It uses Samsung V-NAND tech stacked in four and eight-layer versions, which again offers better performance and lower latency. It's optimized for "edge AI environments supporting real-time, data-intensive AI applications".

All of this is a long way out, though, with no release dates for what are clearly early working concepts.

Of course, most people aren't so worried about the future of memory technology, but more about when they might be able to buy today's RAM at a price which doesn't feel like a massive rip-off.

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