Samsung Electronics has achieved a significant milestone in its pursuit of supplying advanced memory chips for AI systems. Their latest fifth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, known as HBM3E, have finally passed all NVIDIA's tests. This approval will help Samsung in catching up with competitors SK Hynix and Micron in the race to provide HBM memory chips to NVIDIA. While a supply deal hasn't been finalized yet, deliveries are expected to start in late 2024.

However, it's worth noting that Samsung passed NVIDIA's tests for the eight-layer HBM3E chips while the more advanced twelve-layer version of the HBM3E chips is still struggling pass those tests. Both Samsung and NVIDIA declined to comment on these developments. Industry expert Dylan Patel notes that while Samsung is making progress, they're still behind SK Hynix, which is already preparing to ship its own twelve-layer HBM3E chips.Currently, there are only three main manufacturers of HBM chips: SK Hynix, Micron, and Samsung. SK Hynix has been NVIDIA's primary supplier, while Micron has also announced plans to supply NVIDIA with HBM3E chips.

High-bandwidth memory (HBM) technology is poised for significant growth, with HBM3E chips expected to dominate the market in the latter half of this year, according to research firm TrendForce. SK Hynix projects an 82% annual growth rate for HBM memory chip demand through 2027. Samsung's target for HBM3E chips to constitute 60% of its HBM sales by the fourth quarter of this year.