"Without Advances in Semiconductors, AI Development Would Not Be Possible"... Samsung Electronics Shares Technology with Partner Companies

Semiconductor Tech Seminar Held
Spotlighting the Evolution of Memory Technology
Enhancing the Competitiveness of the Partner Ecosystem

Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions (DS) Division has created an opportunity to share the latest technology trends in the semiconductor industry with its partner companies and strengthen the foundation for mutual growth.

Samsung Electronics said on November 13 that its DS Division had invited executives and employees of partner companies to the Semiconductor Tech Seminar at the Win-Win Cooperation Academy in Suwon on November 10.

Launched in 2019, the Semiconductor Tech Seminar is held regularly twice a year, in the first and second halves of the year. It is one of the DS Division's mutual growth programs, designed to share the latest technology trends and key information in the semiconductor industry with partner companies and help strengthen their technological competitiveness. The seminar was established on the principle that the technological capabilities of partner companies contribute to the competitiveness of the semiconductor ecosystem as a whole.

The seminar topics are selected for each session after considering both technological changes in the industry and partner companies' areas of interest. The aim is to help partner companies understand rapidly changing trends in the semiconductor market and apply them to technology development and business strategies. Reflecting the rapid growth in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, this second-half seminar focused on "The Evolution and Future of Memory Semiconductor Technology in the AI Era" and "A Paradigm Shift in Materials Technology Amid Changes in Semiconductor Technology."

Vice President Ji Hyunki, head of the Win-Win Cooperation Center at Samsung Electronics' DS Division, speaks at the Semiconductor Tech Seminar held at the Win-Win Cooperation Academy in Suwon on the 10th. Samsung Electronics Newsroom.

The event opened with remarks by Ji Hyunki, vice president and head of the DS Division's Win-Win Cooperation Center. Ji thanked the executives and employees of partner companies for attending and emphasized, "The semiconductor industry is a key driver of AI innovation, and without advances in semiconductors, the development of AI would not be possible." He added, "Samsung Electronics' DS Division will continue to carry out a variety of initiatives to strengthen the technological capabilities of our partner companies."

In the first lecture, Hwang Cheolseong, a distinguished professor at Seoul National University, introduced structural changes in the global semiconductor industry and the roadmap for memory technology. Hwang said, "In the AI era, the semiconductor industry is being reshaped around memory, and the memory industry is growing beyond previous expectations." He also shared an analysis of the latest trends in memory technology and future research directions.

In particular, he discussed the technical limits to further scaling in DRAM and NAND flash and outlined research into next-generation device technologies to overcome them. He also introduced HBM stacking and next-generation packaging technologies under development to address memory bottlenecks in AI systems. The seminar also covered the structure and outlook of the memory market, which is undergoing fundamental changes as AI technology advances.

A lecture on the direction of materials technology research in Samsung Electronics' DS Division followed. The speaker, Kim Yunho, head of the Materials Technology Team at Samsung Electronics' Foundry business, received a Presidential Citation last month at the "2026 Materials, Parts, Equipment and Root Industry Technology Expo," hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, for his contributions to developing next-generation semiconductor extreme ultraviolet (EUV) materials and localizing new recycling technologies.

Kim reviewed the challenges facing semiconductor materials technologies for different products, including logic chips, DRAM and NAND flash, and presented directions for technology development to address them. He emphasized, "Alongside circuits, processes and equipment, materials are one of the key pillars of semiconductor technology that will shape the future."

He added, "Not only 'new materials,' but also high-quality, high-purity functional materials that we have not previously encountered represent a new concept in materials. Active discussions and collaboration with materials, parts and equipment partners are essential to developing them."

About 1,000 executives and employees of partner companies attended the seminar both online and in person. Those at the venue learned about the latest technology trends through the lectures and took an active part in the question-and-answer session, deepening their understanding of key technology issues.

Partner companies that attended in person said the seminar helped them respond to technological changes and consider the direction of their future businesses.

Lee Hanki, CEO of KC Industrial, a partner company specializing in specialty gases and materials, said, "I have attended regularly since the seminar was first launched, using it as an opportunity to learn about the latest semiconductor technology trends and technology related to materials, parts and equipment."

He added, "The seminar helped me understand the direction of next-generation technologies that can address the problems facing semiconductor technology today. The greatest takeaway was seeing the concept of 'new materials' as both an expansion of our work to develop new materials for mass production and preparation for the future."

Choi Changbae, a director at Microcontact Solution, a partner company that supplies key components for back-end processes, said, "With the market for high-performance semiconductors such as AI chips, GPUs and HBM growing rapidly, testing technology is becoming increasingly important. I attended to learn about next-generation semiconductor technologies, changes in the market and our customers' technology roadmaps."

He added that he found the explanation of the four directions for new materials particularly useful: new substances, expansion into other processes, ultra-high quality and composition optimization.

Samsung Electronics' DS Division plans to continue expanding technology exchanges and information sharing with partner companies to enhance the competitiveness of the semiconductor ecosystem as a whole. It will continue offering a range of mutual growth programs to help partner companies respond proactively to rapidly changing technological conditions and build a foundation for sustained growth.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.