According to the report from MoneyDJ, Western Digital (WD), a well-known memory device manufacturer, reported its latest financial report after the American stock market closed on April 25. Both revenue and profit for 1Q24 were better than market expectations, mainly driven by the robust AI demand and cloud service providers’ proactive acts in AI investment, which significantly boosted data storage demand.

According to WD’s financial result for fiscal third quarter 2024 (ending March 29, 2024), revenue increased by 23% YoY to USD 3.46 billion, surpassing the expected USD 3.36 billion from LSEG’s survey. Gross margin rebounded to 29%, up 18.8 percentage points from the same period last year at 10.2%; Net profit turned from a loss to a gain of $110 million, or USD 0.34 per share, far better than the net loss of USD 580 million, or net loss of USD 1.82 per share in the same period last year. Excluding one-time expenses, adjusted earnings per share were USD 0.63.

Photo credit: WD

The main “Cloud” segment saw robust revenue growth of 29% in the third quarter to USD 1.55 billion, mainly fueled by enterprises’ acceleration and expansion of data center construction, stimulating memory demand growth, with prices also rising accordingly.

Its competitor Seagate, a HDD manufacturer, also reported impressive financial results on April 23, with last quarter’s performance beyond expectations. The company expected continued growth of AI-driven memory demand and give a positive business outlook for this quarter.

Looking ahead to fiscal fourth quarter 2024 (ending June 28, 2024), WD estimates revenue will be USD 3.6-3.8 billion; adjusted earnings per share are estimated to be USD 0.90-1.20.

WD previously announced the separation of its two main product divisions, HDD and NAND Flash. The NAND Flash division will be spun off into a new company and go public, and the transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024. Moving forward, WD will focus on its core HDD business to bring greater value to shareholders.

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(Photo credit: WD)

Henri Richard, head of Rapidus Design Solutions, the US subsidiary of Japan’s semiconductor foundry startup Rapidus, and former Chief Marketing Officer at processor giant AMD, indicates that Rapidus aims to position itself as a filler of market gaps during the interview with global media The Register.

Rapidus Design Solutions, established by Rapidus in this month, is expected to bolster ties with US semiconductor design companies and wafer manufacturing technology providers like IBM. Henri Richard reportedly notes that the AI boom is boosting the advanced semiconductor foundry market, albeit with understated demand and ongoing capacity constraints. Thus, in this market trend, he asserts that even if these technologies don’t necessarily confer a competitive edge, the limitations in capacity alone should suffice to ensure Rapidus’ success.

Established in August 2022, Rapidus was jointly founded by eight Japanese companies, including Toyota, Sony, NTT, NEC, Softbank, Denso, Kioxia (formerly Toshiba Memory Corporation), and Mitsubishi UFJ, who invested collectively in its establishment. As per Rapidus’ plan, they aim to commence mass production of 2-nanometer process technology in 2027, significantly lagging behind major global players like TSMC, Intel, and Samsung.

TSMC and Samsung previously planned to mass-produce 2nm chips in 2025, while Intel is anticipated to be the first to achieve commercialization of 2nm chips. Industry sources cited by the The Register’s report also view this timing as unfavorable for Rapidus.

However, Henri Richard believes that the semiconductor process technology has reached a turning point. Assessing the success of suppliers solely based on production timelines is narrow-minded; competitiveness stems from various factors beyond production schedules.

Based on these factors, Rapidus positions itself as a fill-in player in the advanced manufacturing market, targeting small AI chip design companies as its primary market. While competitors focus on serving large clients, Rapidus aims to win over these smaller clients by offering comprehensive support services. By serving numerous small chip design companies, Rapidus can better understand the specific needs of AI chip users, rather than insisting on the latest process technology for all chips.

Henri Richard emphasizes that Rapidus itself has limited scale and cannot initially serve too many clients simultaneously. It is expected that Rapidus’s initial client base will not exceed 6 companies, allowing them to accumulate experience and capabilities.

Although there are geopolitical issues currently, establishing facilities in the US is not on Rapidus’s immediate agenda. Meanwhile, Japan represents a relatively favorable geographic location for Rapidus, offering clients a risk-diversification option.

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(Photo credit: Rapidus)

Following the recent launch of the Arm-based PC platform processor Snapdragon X Elite, which received high market acclaim, Qualcomm is reportedly doubling down by venturing into server processors. This expansion is expected to further intensify the competition amid traditional server processor giants Intel and AMD.

According to a report from the global tech media Android Authority, following the launch of the Snapdragon X Elite/Plus processors, Qualcomm is internally developing a server processor with the codename SD1, featuring their custom Oryon cores.

Reportedly, Qualcomm’s next-generation server processor will be manufactured using TSMC’s 5-nanometer process (N5P), featuring 80 Oryon cores with a maximum clock speed of 3.8GHz, 16-channel DDR5 memory with a maximum transfer rate of 5600MHz, 70 PCIe 5.0 interface links, and support for CXL v1.1. It will use a 9470-pin LGA socket and support dual-socket server configurations.

Furthermore, the status of this project is currently unconfirmed, but Qualcomm partners reportedly received briefings about it at the end of 2021 and early 2022, aligning with previous rumors. This isn’t Qualcomm’s first foray into server processors; they previously launched the Arm-based Centriq series in 2017, which was discontinued a year later.

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(Photo credit: Qualcomm)

According to a report from Korean media outlet viva100, Samsung has signed a new USD 3 billion agreement with processor giant AMD to supply HBM3e 12-layer DRAM for use in the Instinct MI350 series AI chips. Reportedly, Samsung has also agreed to purchase AMD GPUs in exchange for HBM products, although details regarding the specific products and quantities involved remain unclear.

Earlier market reports indicated that AMD plans to launch the Instinct MI350 series in the second half of the year as an upgraded version of the Instinct MI300 series. The MI350 series is reportedly expected to adopt TSMC’s 4-nanometer process, delivering improved computational performance with lower power consumption. The inclusion of 12-layer stacked HBM3e memory will enhance both bandwidth and capacity.

In October 2023, at Samsung Memory Tech Day 2023, Samsung announced the launch of a new HBM3e codenamed “Shinebolt.” In February of this year, Samsung unveiled the industry’s first HBM3e 12H DRAM, featuring 12 layers and a capacity of 36GB, marking the highest bandwidth and capacity HBM product to date. Samsung has provided samples and plans to commence mass production in the second half of the year.

Samsung’s HBM3e 12H DRAM offers up to 1280GB/s bandwidth and 36GB capacity, representing a 50% increase compared to the previous generation of eight-layer stacked memory. Advanced Thermal Compression Non-Conductive Film (TC NCF) technology enables the 12-layer stack to meet HBM packaging requirements while maintaining chip height consistency with eight-layer chips.

Additionally, optimizing the size of chip bumps improves HBM thermal performance, with smaller bumps located in signal transmission areas and larger bumps in heat dissipation areas, contributing to higher product yields.

The adoption of HBM3e 12-layer DRAM over HBM3e 8-layer DRAM has shown an average speed improvement of 34% in AI applications, with inference service users increasing by over 11.5 times.

In view of this matter, industry sources cited by the report from TechNews has indicated that this deal is separate from negotiations between AMD and Samsung Foundry for wafer production. AMD plans to assign a portion of new CPUs/GPUs to Samsung for manufacturing, which is unrelated to this specific transaction.

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(Photo credit: Samsung)

To enhance the supply chain capabilities in Europe and strengthen outsourced backend manufacturing operations in the region, major automotive and power semiconductor manufacturer Infineon announced an expanded partnership with semiconductor packaging and testing services provider Amkor Techology. According to the official press release of Infineon, the two companies will establish a new packaging and testing center in Porto, Portugal, with operations expected to commence in the first half of 2025.

Through this agreement, Infineon and Amkor will further strengthen their partnership and expand the semiconductor assembly and testing business model while enhancing the resilience of the European semiconductor supply chain.

Amkor’s facility in Porto, Portugal specializes in semiconductor packaging, assembly, and testing. As part of the reported expansion, cleanroom production lines will be established. Infineon is expected to provide product design and development expertise, as Infineon already operates a large service center in Porto with over 600 employees.

Infineon noted that the establishment of this production center will allow for further expansion of business in Portugal and reinforce the importance of Europe as a semiconductor manufacturing base. This initiative is anticipated to enhance regional manufacturing flexibility and supply security for customers.

On another front, Infineon recently announced a memorandum of understanding with HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), a company dedicated to developing environmentally friendly and low-carbon shipping technologies using electricity and hydrogen power. Together, they will leverage power semiconductor technology to jointly develop emerging marine engines and electrification of mechanical systems, accelerating the realization of low-carbon shipping.

In this collaboration, Infineon will provide technical support and guidance to HD KSOE in terms of power semiconductor modules and system solutions. Infineon will also share information on semiconductor trends relevant to maritime applications. The goal of HD KSOE is to enhance the reliability and performance of ship propulsion and drive technologies through this partnership, promoting environmental sustainability through maritime electrification initiatives.

(Photo credit: Infineon)