[News] Tesla Rumored to Seek HBM4 Samples from Samsung and SK hynix for Dojo Supercomputer

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The flames of war continues to spread, as the HBM battle seems to extend to the next-gen products. According to the Korean Economic Daily, Samsung and SK hynix are reportedly developing HBM4 samples for Tesla, as the EV giant joins other U.S. tech giants in the race to develop its own AI chips.

The report indicates that Tesla has requested the South Korean memory duo to supply HBM4 chips for general use, while it is expected to select one of the two companies as its HBM4 supplier after testing their samples.

The HBM4 products are expected to be incorporated into Tesla’s Dojo, its custom-built supercomputer driven by the company’s D1 AI chip, which is designed to train the “Full Self-Driving” neural networks, notes the report.

In addition, Tesla might utilize HBM4 chips in developing AI data centers and its self-driving cars, which currently use HBM2e chips for their pilot programs, according to the report.

The two Korean memory heavyweights have been working on customized HBM4 chips for major U.S. tech companies, as they aim to reduce their reliance on NVIDIA’s AI accelerators. A previous report by South Korean media outlet Maeli Business Newspaper discloses that Samsung has already begun developing “Custom HBM4,” a next-gen high-bandwidth memory tailored specifically for Microsoft and Meta.

On the other hand, the current HBM leader SK hynix, which used to be the exclusive HBM3e supplier for NVIDIA, was reportedly requested by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang to accelerate the supply of HBM4 by six months. In October, the company said that it planned to deliver the chips to customers in the second half of 2025.

It is worth noting that both memory giants have teamed up with TSMC on HBM4, as they attempt to incorporate customized features requested by major clients, counting on TSMC to manufacture more powerful logic dies, the component that functions as the brain of an HBM chip.

According to the information provided by SK hynix cited by the Korean Economic Daily, HBM4 offers 1.4 times the bandwidth of the fifth-generation HBM3e while consuming approximately 30% less power.

Read more

• [News] Samsung Reportedly Starts Developing Custom HBM4 for Big CSPs, Eyeing Mass Production by 2025
• [News] SK hynix Reportedly to Tape-out HBM4 in October, Paving the Way for NVIDIA’s Rubin

(Photo credit: Samsung)