TECH NEWS – For example, Samsung has also faced criticism from the company led by Jensen Huang.
The artificial intelligence supply chain is one of the most complex and includes players that even the world’s largest manufacturers rely on. For years, the AI industry has been a buyer’s market, particularly in segments like HBM, where Nvidia and others aim to secure optimal agreements focused on capacity and prices. BusinessKorea revealed that Nvidia employed a negotiation strategy focused on “preemptive pressure tactics” against suppliers like Samsung and TSMC. It appears this approach has paid off.
Nvidia’s audit team reportedly visited Samsung’s Pyeongtaek campus, home to one of the company’s most advanced semiconductor production lines, which is currently responsible for HBM processes. During the internal audit, Nvidia’s team reportedly took an unusually critical stance toward the South Korean tech giant’s operations and voiced extremely high-level criticism regarding technical details. This audit differed from previous ones because the validation standards were set too high.
Neither Nvidia nor Samsung has officially confirmed the incident, but BusinessKorea reports that it is one of Nvidia’s tactics ahead of contract price negotiations. The goal is to gain an advantage by highlighting minor vulnerabilities. This investigation likely comes at a time when both parties are working to finalize the HBM4 contracts necessary for the mass production of the Vera Rubin telescope. It is important to note that this contract will be a significant milestone for Samsung, given the company’s previous poor performance in the HBM business.
Suppliers are not surprised by Nvidia’s unusual scrutiny of SK Hynix and TSMC, as both companies have fallen victim to it in the past. Nvidia has reportedly set strict qualification standards for its partners and cannot afford to compromise on even the smallest manufacturing details because any negative development could become a much bigger problem for Nvidia and its business operations.
Failing to meet Nvidia’s requirements leads suppliers to financial difficulties they simply cannot afford.
Source: WCCFTech, BusinessKorea
