[비즈한국] As the demand for artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators grows rapidly and securing semiconductor supply chains, including memory, has emerged as a key challenge, AMD is rolling up its sleeves to build an AI ecosystem through long-term partnerships with Korean companies. AMD CEO Lisa Su, who visited Korea for the first time in seven months, identified Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as key supply chain partners and emphasized a cooperation plan looking ahead to the next 3 to 5 years.
In a media Q&A immediately following 'AMD Gamer Day' held at Seoul Dragon City in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the 7th, CEO Su said, "Because the supply chain is so complex, we must plan with our partners looking ahead not 1 to 2 years, but 3 to 5 years," adding, "Samsung and SK Hynix are core supply chain partners."
She explained that the supply of next-generation AI accelerators has already begun. "We have already started shipping the next-generation MI455 and Helios systems, and both are HBM4-based systems," CEO Su stated, adding, "We have received excellent support from both partners, Samsung and SK Hynix." HBM4 is a memory that increases data processing speed by vertically stacking multiple DRAM chips and is a key component for quickly supplying the massive amounts of data required by AI accelerators. Samsung Electronics and AMD signed an MOU last March for the supply of HBM4 and cooperation on next-generation DDR5. Samsung Electronics was named the priority supplier of HBM4 for the MI455X.
Regarding the current memory supply and demand situation, CEO Su diagnosed it as a "very tight supply environment." She added that AMD is also working to optimize memory usage while requesting that its partners expand their production capacity. Her visit to Korea, following meetings with supply chain partners in Taiwan the previous day, is part of this effort to build a long-term supply chain.
Revealing plans to significantly increase AI chip supply next year, AMD also announced a plan to invest tens of billions of dollars across its global supply chain.
The possibility of cooperation with Samsung Electronics expanding beyond memory to foundry also remains open. Describing Samsung Electronics as a "great partner in many areas," CEO Su said, "We will continue to seek opportunities for cooperation, including in foundry." The two companies also agreed to discuss foundry cooperation opportunities for next-generation AMD products in their March MOU.
This visit to Korea is not solely focused on the supply chain. On the morning of the 7th, CEO Su met with Ryu Je-myung, 2nd Vice Minister of Science and ICT, and reaffirmed plans to establish AMD's Korea AI Center of Excellence (CoE) within the year and secure hundreds of research personnel. Later, she met with 13 domestic AI semiconductor, software, and cloud companies, including FuriosaAI and Upstage, to discuss ways to build an open ecosystem that combines AMD's CPUs and GPUs with domestic AI semiconductors.
CEO Su evaluated Korea as a base for AI development as well as a supply chain hub. "Whether you look at the supply chain, universities, startups, or large corporations, there is an abundance of talent," she said, mentioning the expansion of cooperation with domestic startups such as Upstage.
In the gaming sector, AMD is expanding performance improvements using AI to PCs and handheld devices. Jack Huynh, AMD Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Computing and Graphics Group, announced at the event that the company plans to expand 'FSR' support across its APUs—which combine CPUs and GPUs—and release lightweight models optimized for APUs. FSR is an AMD graphics technology that corrects game screens rendered at lower resolutions to achieve higher frame rates while maintaining image quality.
Senior Vice President Huynh explained that with the advancement of open-weight AI models, the scope for running large-scale AI models directly on PCs is also expanding. This involves running state-of-the-art models in the cloud while using local devices like PCs for other tasks.
Following her meeting with SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung on the same day, CEO Su is scheduled to meet with Samsung Electronics executives, including Jeon Young-hyun, Vice Chairman and Head of the DS Division. "Semiconductors are a team sport," said CEO Su. "This is the fastest-moving field I have ever seen in my career." CEO Su is expected to return to the U.S. after concluding the day's schedule.