In a surprising turn of events, Samsung reportedly turned down a lucrative offer from NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang back in 2018, which could have led to a groundbreaking collaboration in HBM (High Bandwidth Memory), chip processes, and CUDA.
At the time, NVIDIA was in the midst of a rapid ascent, but Samsung’s leadership, with their conservative outlook, rejected the proposal, possibly costing the company billions in the long run.
Fast forward to today, and Samsung is facing significant financial challenges. Their semiconductor and HBM businesses are struggling with operating losses. One key reason for this is their failure to capitalize on evolving market trends, especially in the growing field of HBM technology. The missed opportunity, as highlighted in a recent Korean media report, traces back to 2018 when Jensen Huang himself approached Samsung to forge a long-term collaboration. The proposal included joint HBM development, a partnership with the foundry business, and deep involvement with the CUDA ecosystem, an area where NVIDIA has since become a dominant player.
At the time, Samsung was a top-tier company in the memory market, known for its DRAM and NAND chips, which made them an attractive partner for NVIDIA’s ambitious plans. However, Samsung’s leadership, according to Huang, was hesitant about committing to a long-term partnership, mainly due to their lack of enthusiasm for HBM. This hesitation, unfortunately, has turned out to be one of the biggest business missteps in recent memory. Had Samsung accepted the proposal, they could have been at the forefront of the HBM revolution. Instead, NVIDIA turned to SK hynix, and the two companies have since formed a successful partnership that continues to thrive. SK hynix has become a dominant force in HBM supply, powering NVIDIA’s products and leaving Samsung behind in this lucrative sector.
In hindsight, the decision to turn down NVIDIA’s offer seems even more consequential, especially as SK hynix now leads the HBM market. Samsung’s competitors, particularly in Korea, are gaining ground, and the company’s inability to strike a deal with NVIDIA allowed these rivals to take the lead. Meanwhile, NVIDIA has evolved into a $4 trillion tech powerhouse, with its AI-driven innovations and continued growth in the chip and memory markets. If Samsung had seized the opportunity, it might not have found itself lagging behind in the HBM sector and would have had a stronger foothold in the increasingly competitive chip market.
In addition to Samsung’s fateful decision, there have been other high-profile instances of companies missing the mark when it comes to predicting NVIDIA’s future success. For example, SoftBank’s CEO Masayoshi Son famously sold off a large stake in NVIDIA just before the AI boom, costing him hundreds of billions of dollars in stock value. Predicting NVIDIA’s rapid rise and Jensen Huang’s strategic vision has proven to be a challenge for even the most seasoned investors and industry leaders.