Samsung hoarding 2.5D packaging equipment, preparing for NVIDIA's next-gen Blackwell AI GPU

Samsung has reportedly ordered a "significant number" of 2.5D packaging equipment from Japanese company Shinkawa, according to the latest reports.

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We're hearing the news from TheElec's sources, who said Samsung has ordered 16 units of the equipment from the packaging firm, with the South Korean giant receiving 7 of the units already, and will request the rest of them when they need them. We should expect Samsung is preparing to supply NVIDIA with its new HBM3 memory and 2.5D packaging for its next-gen Blackwell B100 AI GPUs coming in 2024.

Now that Samsung has 7 of them in-house, the other 9 units will be ordered when NVIDIA begins ordering the parts required from Samsung for its new B100 AI GPU. Samsung should be providing HBM3 memory, the interposer, and 2.5D package from Samsung while its main partner for fabrication will still be TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company).

NVIDIA will have enough demand for its new AI GPUs that it will use both Samsung and TSMC for its packaging work -- which is done after the GPU wafer is made -- while Samsung can also provide HBM3 memory, something TSMC cannot do.

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As for NVIDIA's next-gen B100 AI GPU, we should expect it to start fabrication before the New Year rings in, with wafers taking around 4 months to fabricate, so the assembly and packaging are expected to start in Q2 2024, so Samsung is preparing for then, now with its 2.5D packaging.