Samsung Electronics co-CEO називає галузь мікросхем на "безпрецедентному супер-циклі"

Samsung Electronics Co-CEO Jeon Yong-kwan stated on Wednesday that driven by the wave of artificial intelligence, chip demand will remain strong this year, but rising memory chip prices may impact shipments of computers and mobile devices.

Jeon Yong-kwan said the company is working with major clients to shift traditional annual or quarterly supply agreements to multi-year contracts of three to five years to mitigate the impact of cyclical demand fluctuations.

He noted that Samsung is now an important partner for Nvidia in the field of AI infrastructure, citing Nvidia’s GTC developer conference where CEO Jensen Huang announced a foundry partnership with the Korean company and praised its HBM4 chips.

Jeon Yong-kwan said that with the increasing investment in AI infrastructure, the industry is entering an “unprecedented super cycle.” However, he also expressed caution about market concerns over an AI bubble and pointed out that power supply limitations are also a major bottleneck for AI data centers.

At the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Suwon, south of Seoul, Jeon Yong-kwan said, “Due to the continuous growth in AI demand and the resulting ongoing shortage of memory supply, we expect the business environment to be very favorable.” He is responsible for the company’s chip business.

He added, “However, risks still exist, including uncertainties in the global macroeconomic environment, such as tariff issues and the cost burden of devices like TVs, smartphones, and home appliances.”

At last year’s shareholders’ meeting, Jeon Yong-kwan apologized for Samsung’s initial missed opportunity in the AI chip market and tried to reassure disappointed shareholders.

Since then, the situation has improved, with traditional chip prices soaring, and Samsung narrowing the gap with SK Hynix in developing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips.

“Things couldn’t be better,” said 51-year-old shareholder Oh Bong-gyu before Wednesday’s shareholders’ meeting, mentioning the rise in Samsung’s stock price. “But I am a bit worried about Samsung’s labor unions and the burden they place on management.”

Due to growing dissatisfaction among employees over pay gaps with major competitors, Samsung’s labor union threatened to disrupt chip production as union members are voting on a strike plan scheduled for May.

Jeon Yong-kwan acknowledged that weak profitability in the chip business has affected performance bonuses, causing Samsung to lag behind competitors in wage competitiveness.

“However, since last year, as our semiconductor products’ competitiveness has recovered, the distribution of performance bonuses has also shown signs of revival, and we expect the wage competitiveness gap to narrow,” he said.