Samsung and SK Hynix Set to Sign Major Memory Chip Deals With US Tech Giants

TLDR

• Samsung and SK Hynix will announce large memory chip supply deals with US tech companies during South Korea’s presidential visit to San Francisco
• South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is meeting top US tech executives including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and OpenAI’s Sam Altman
• The deals are expected to include long-term supply agreements, strategic partnerships, and memorandums of understanding
• Samsung and SK Hynix together control around 80% of the global HBM chip market
• Global tech companies are also expected to announce strategic investments in AI data centres

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South Korea’s two biggest chipmakers are about to ink major supply deals with American tech companies. The announcements are expected during President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to San Francisco this weekend.

Kim Yong-beom, the presidential policy adviser, told reporters the deals would involve long-term memory chip supply contracts with global technology partners. He said “very large and meaningful figures” are expected to be announced.

The visit is being framed as a move to strengthen the technology and economic relationship between South Korea and the United States.

Who Is at the Table

President Lee is scheduled to meet Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman while in San Francisco. He will also attend an AI summit alongside South Korean business leaders.

Those leaders include Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, and Hyundai Motor Executive Chair Euisun Chung. On the US side, Broadcom’s Hock Tan, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, and Naver Corporation’s Lee Hae-jin are also expected to attend.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SMSD.L

The summit brings together some of the biggest names in AI hardware and software.

The HBM Chip Factor

At the heart of these deals is high-bandwidth memory, or HBM. These chips are used inside graphics processing units that power AI data centres and large language models.

Samsung and SK Hynix together hold around 80% of the global HBM chip market. That gives South Korea strong leverage in AI supply chain negotiations with American companies.

The Korea Economic Institute of America said the main focus of talks will be Korea’s support for AI infrastructure in the United States and its supply of cutting-edge HBM chips.

The expected agreements include strategic partnerships, memorandums of understanding, and long-term supply contracts. US tech companies are also set to announce strategic investments in AI data centres, though specific details have not been shared.

President Lee’s San Francisco visit is a stop on his way to South America, where he will attend summits with regional leaders.

The chip deals, if confirmed, would mark a deepening of ties between South Korean semiconductor manufacturers and the US tech industry at a time when demand for AI infrastructure is rising fast.