Lisa Su "Samsung and SK key partners...HBM cooperation will last for several generations" (comprehensive)

“Long-term partnership with Korea over 3 to 5 years is important.”

AI and gaming combined acceleration… Expanding machine learning to APUs and portable devices

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Hayoung Kwon = AMD Chairman and CEO Lisa Su cited both artificial intelligence (AI) and gaming as core areas of computing and presented a vision to support all users who need high-performance computing by combining the two technologies.

He mentioned Samsung Electronics [005930] and SK Hynix [000660] as key partners in the memory supply chain and emphasized the importance of long-term cooperation with Korea for more than five years.

◇ Lisa Su “AI and gaming are both key”… Highly rated by Korean gamers

Chairman Lisa Su made this announcement during a Q&A with Korean gamers along with AMD Computing and Graphics Group Executive Vice President Jack Huin at the 'AMD Gamer Day' event held at Dragon City in Seoul on the afternoon of the 7th.

AMD Gamer Day is an event prepared by AMD, which provides core computing resources such as central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs), to meet directly with the Korean gaming community, share the latest gaming technology and vision, and listen to the voices of gamers.

Chairman Su said, "AI is pushing computing performance to the highest level, but gaming is also a very important core area of ​​computing that also requires very high performance. Our goal is to support all consumers and enterprise users who need high-performance computing."

“This includes actually combining AI and gaming,” he added. “As AI becomes more and more important, we will see a combination of Ryzen and AI in our latest products.”

In particular, Chairman Su emphasized that gamers' high standards and feedback are the driving force behind technological development, and that all areas including PC gaming, console gaming, and portable gaming are important to AMD.

He said, “When looking at our gaming community over the past 10 years, Korean users who use Ryzen CPUs and Radeon GPUs are among the most passionate and best-performing gamers in the world.”

Senior Vice President Jack Huynh introduced the related roadmap, saying that AMD's machine learning technology is being used to improve the gaming experience.

He mentioned FSR4 and FSR Redstone, game screen upscaling technologies, and explained, "We go beyond simple image upscaling and add technologies such as frame creation and restoration to make games faster and more beautiful."

They also announced plans to apply machine learning technology to accelerated processing units (APUs) that integrate CPUs and GPUs within this year, and to expand it to all portable devices in the future.

Regarding the direction of development of AI technology, he emphasized, "It is not a replacement for the developer's creative intent, but rather an expansion of the tool so that it can work faster and better."

Senior Vice President Huynh said that AMD technology is installed in 1 billion gaming devices around the world, and that he sees this as a big responsibility and will continue to support various platforms such as PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam Deck.

A prize drawing event was also held at the event. Prior to the drawing, Chairman Soo reportedly personally left his signature on each prize, and the winners received a special gift.

On one side of the venue, an experience zone was set up where participants could enjoy games themselves, and the venue was filled with an atmosphere reminiscent of a game festival, with participants dressed as game characters walking around the venue and taking pictures.

◇ “Samsung and SK key partners”… Expanding cooperation between HBM and foundry

Chairman Su met with the domestic media immediately after the event and selected Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as key strategic partners in the memory field. He emphasized, "Demand from not only AI but also gaming and consumer sectors is very high," and added, "The key is to cooperate closely with Korean partners, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix."

“Korea is a very important ecosystem,” he said. “We are not simply looking for a short-term partnership of 1 to 3 years, but we see mid- to long-term partnerships of 3 to 5 years or more as very important.”

He added, “The supply chain has very complex aspects,” and added, “I think it is important to cooperate with our major supply partners, SK Hynix and Samsung.”

Recently, AMD began shipping the next-generation AI accelerator MI455 and Helios systems, and these products are all equipped with 4th generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4).

Regarding this, Chairman Su said, "We have received great support from both Samsung and SK Hynix," and that HBM cooperation "will not just last for one generation, but will continue for many generations."

He added that even in a situation where memory supply is tight, we are optimizing memory usage in cooperation with our customers, and are requesting that our partners expand capacity as quickly as possible.

Regarding foundry cooperation, he said, “Samsung is a good partner in many areas,” and said that they are continuing to seek cooperation opportunities in various fields, including foundry.

When asked about plans to meet with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix executives on this day, Chairman Su did not reveal a specific schedule, but said, "I have already met with SK Hynix and am scheduled to meet with Samsung today. As the semiconductor industry is a team sport, I consider it important to meet with partners on a regular basis."