Samsung wins advanced chip packaging order from NVIDIA for AI GPUs, TSMC isn't enough

Samsung has reportedly won a contract with NVIDIA to provide the AI GPU giant with advanced 2.5D packaging.

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The news is coming from TheElec, with their sources saying Samsung's Advanced Package (AVP) team will be providing an interposer and I-Cube -- its 2.5D package -- to NVIDIA. Other companies will produce the High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and GPU wafers, with the 2.5D packaging housing the chip dies-CPU, GPU, I/O, HBM, and others-placed horizontally onto the interposer.

Samsung calls its 2.5D packaging technology I-Cube, while TSMC calls its 2.5D packaging CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate). NVIDIA's entire fleet of A100 and H200 series AI GPUs uses 2.5D packaging, and more importantly, the monster new 208 billion transistor Blackwell B200 AI GPU uses the same advanced packaging.

I wrote back late last year that Samsung was reportedly hoarding advanced 2.5D packaging equipment, and it seems that is playing out in front of our eyes now that Samsung has NVIDIA as a customer for its 2.5D packaging. According to the sources, Samsung will provide a 2.5D package with four HBM chips placed on them for NVIDIA.

Samsung winning a 2.5D packaging contract from NVIDIA likely means that TSMC CoWoS capacity is "insufficient," adds TheElec. It might not sound like much, but it's a big deal: NVIDIA wants an unstoppable amount of next-generation Blackwell B200 AI GPUs and utilizing Samsung in South Korea for 2.5D packaging points to TSMC not able to supply enough of its own CoWoS advanced packaging, forcing NVIDIA to get Samsung to jump on-board.