Samsung agrees to use TSMC’s 3nm process for Nvidia custom HBM

Seoul Economic Daily reported on October 18, 2026, that Samsung agreed to Nvidia’s request following an internal review by Samsung’s Device Solutions division.[1] The NVHBM base die is to be made using TSMC’s 3-nanometer process, according to the report.[1] Nvidia unveiled the custom HBM in August, and the report describes NVHBM as based on the HBM4E architecture.[1] The agreement concerns this Nvidia product; Samsung plans to retain its turnkey approach for standard HBM and for custom HBM supplied to other customers, including AMD.[1]

Nvidia also requested that the NVHBM core die use 1c, a sixth-generation DRAM process, Seoul Economic Daily reported.[1] The base die and core die therefore have distinct roles in the reported manufacturing plan: TSMC’s 3nm process for the base die, and 1c for the core die.[1] The custom design integrates a memory controller directly into the base die, according to The News International.[2] Samsung already makes HBM4 and HBM4E core dies on 1c lines at its Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek campuses, the report said.[1]

Nvidia asked Samsung, SK hynix and Micron to produce NVHBM.[1] Seoul Economic Daily reported that differing manufacturing methods among HBM suppliers make it difficult to get consistent performance from a single design.[1] Standardizing the approach is also intended to reduce the need to validate products separately for each supplier, according to the report.[1] For teams assessing the arrangement, the stated rationale is coordination across suppliers—not evidence that the suppliers’ manufacturing processes or product results are identical.[1]

Samsung had previously produced both the core and base dies for all of its HBM supply, according to Seoul Economic Daily.[1] The reported TSMC collaboration is the first time the companies have partnered at the HBM manufacturing stage; they had earlier worked together on packaging-process compatibility when connecting HBM to graphics processors.[1] An industry official cited by the paper said Samsung is evaluating whether its own foundry can make the NVHBM base die, as a hedge in case demand exceeds TSMC’s capacity.[1] The report does not say that Samsung has decided to move base-die production to its own foundry.[1]