Nvidia CEO signs Samsung’s HBM3E 12H during booth visit

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang signs ‘Jensen Approved’ on Samsung‘s HBM3E during his visit to the Samsung booth at GTC 2024 in San Jose, California, U.S., on Mar. 20, 2024. [Captured from the LinkedIn of Han Jin-man, head of Samsung Electronics’ U.S. division]

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made headlines by visiting the Samsung Electronics Co. booth and leaving his signature, alongside the words “Jensen Approved,” on Samsung’s new high bandwidth memory (HBM) product. The HBM3E 12H was on display at the ‘GTC 2024’ developer conference held in San Jose, California on Thursday (local time).

The move sparked discussions across the industry, particularly after Huang expressed his anticipation for Samsung Electronics‘ HBM products the day before.

Huang’s in-person visit to Samsung Electronics‘ booth, coupled with his statement expressing high expectations for HBM technology, has led to widespread speculation of a deeper collaboration between Samsung Electronics and Nvidia, which is currently dominating the artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor market.

Han Jin-man, who oversees Samsung Electronics’ Semiconductor and Device Solutions (DS) business in the Americas, shared a photo on social media showing Huang visiting the booth and posing with Samsung employees. Huang‘s signature alongside the words “JENSEN APPROVED” were etched on the showcased HBM3E 12H product in the photo. Samsung’s HBM3E 12H marks the first 12-layer stacked product in the industry, with Nvidia currently conducting validation testing on the product.

[Captured from the LinkedIn of Han Jin-man, head of Samsung Electronics‘ U.S. division]

While the exact meaning behind Huang’s “approved” signature remains undisclosed, industry speculation suggests it reflects his high expectations for HBM3E rather than confirmation of passing specific tests., Huang praised HBM technology as a technical miracle and commended both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix Inc. for their contributions on Thursday, emphasizing their humility in the face of such complex technology.

Huang‘s actions could also be a hint that Nvidia is looking to strengthen its collaboration with Samsung Electronics. Han, in his social media post, expressed gratitude for Huang’s visit to the booth and his pleasure at receiving Huang‘s direct stamp of approval on Samsung’s HBM3E. He also noted the expectations for the next steps for the collaboration between Samsung‘s semiconductor division and Nvidia.

The GTC 2024 exhibition featured booths not only from memory chip companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix but also from hundreds of other companies collaborating with Nvidia, including Google Cloud.