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AMD chair and CEO Lisa Su’s October 7, 2026 visit to Seoul was a partnership push, not a signed manufacturing deal. She attended AMD Gamer Day, met government and semiconductor-industry participants, and described AMD as exploring work with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix in memory and foundry. The only memory relationship reported as already operating is Samsung’s supply of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AMD’s AI accelerators. Samsung contract manufacturing for AMD remains speculation in the reporting, and no chip supply quantities were announced.
What happened in Seoul
The visit combined a consumer-facing event with a set of government and industry meetings. Su’s public framing centered on supply and ecosystem. In remarks reported by Yonhap, she said, “Semiconductors is a team sport. A team sport means there is collaboration.” That line sums up the trip: AMD is positioning its Korean partners as suppliers, software partners and infrastructure builders at once.
Three strands of activity were reported on October 7 and 8, 2026:
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- Memory and foundry talks with the two largest Korean chipmakers. AMD is exploring opportunities with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
- A roundtable with 14 Korean AI companies, organized alongside the Ministry of Science and ICT, around heterogeneous computing and AMD’s ROCm software ecosystem.
- A planned Korean AI research center and a demonstration project, both still at the planning stage.
Samsung and SK hynix: memory is established, foundry is not
The memory story and the foundry story should be read separately, because the reporting treats them very differently.
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Memory: an existing HBM relationship
Yonhap reported that AMD has received strong support from Samsung in HBM. The two companies agreed in March on a supply deal covering next-generation HBM and other advanced memory chips. Samsung is reported to have supplied HBM3E and HBM4 for AMD’s latest AI accelerators, and to have been designated a preferred HBM4 supplier for the next-generation Instinct MI455X. These are the most concrete supply facts in the visit coverage. The reporting does not disclose volumes, prices or delivery schedules for these agreements.
Foundry: exploratory, not a confirmed deal
Yonhap described cooperation on foundry, meaning chip manufacturing, as speculation. Reports that Samsung could make AMD’s chips are not confirmed by either company in the coverage reviewed. Readers should treat any headline that describes a Samsung or SK hynix manufacturing contract for AMD as ahead of the evidence. SK hynix is described only as one of the companies AMD is exploring memory and foundry opportunities with, with no terms reported.
The Korean AI chip roundtable
SBS reported that AMD planned to build heterogeneous infrastructure that combines AMD CPUs and GPUs with domestic Korean AI semiconductors. The stated aim is to connect participating companies with AMD’s ROCm software ecosystem, so that Korean chips can run alongside AMD’s processors and accelerators rather than replacing them. The model is described as a reference design intended for wider use, not as a deployed system.
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Companies named in the reporting
SBS named the following 14 companies as roundtable participants:
- Rebellions
- FuriosaAI
- Hyper Accelerator
- DeepX
- Mobilint
- MangoBoost
- Panmnesia
- Dinotisia
- More
- Nota AI
- Lablup
- Fadu
- Elice Group
- Upstage
The group spans more than chip design. SBS reported coverage across NPUs (neural processing units), software, memory and storage, networking, cloud and AI models. That mix matters because a heterogeneous system needs more than a chip to work: it needs memory, networking, software that schedules workloads, and models that run on the hardware.
Lisa Su was quoted by SBS saying: “As South Korea enhances its competitiveness in the AI sector, AMD will work together with outstanding domestic companies to create new cooperation opportunities.” SBS labels its English article as AI translated, so check that wording against the Korean original before reusing it verbatim.
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The planned AI research center and demonstration project
CHOSUNBIZ reported that the planned Korean AI research center is targeted for establishment within 2026, with hundreds of researchers discussed as staff. The location had not been decided at the time of reporting. The same coverage said AMD and the ministry were pursuing a demonstration project, but officials did not specify chip supply quantities.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallTaken together, the center, the demonstration project and the roundtable describe a direction rather than finished infrastructure. The reporting gives no date for a working system and no figure for compute capacity.
Why Korean memory matters to AMD’s AI push
AMD’s AI accelerators depend on access to advanced memory, and HBM is one of the tightest components in that chain. Aju Press reported that Samsung and SK hynix together accounted for more than 80 percent of global HBM revenue in the second quarter. That figure is attributed to Counterpoint Research as relayed by Aju Press; the original Counterpoint publication was not reviewed, so it should be treated as reported rather than independently confirmed.
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Su tied the Korean push to demand. Aju Press quoted her saying: “The main thing that we see in the market today is that the demand for AI compute continues to go up.” She added: “As the demand continues to increase, we’re continuing to work all kinds of avenues to increase our overall supply.” Both remarks describe a supply problem AMD has not yet solved alone, which is the logic behind courting memory makers, foundries and domestic chip designers at the same time.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the visit fits AMD’s contest with Nvidia
Nvidia is the incumbent that AMD is measured against in AI accelerators, and the Seoul visit is best judged against that competition on four practical axes:
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- Access to HBM and other supply. Samsung’s reported HBM3E and HBM4 supply and preferred HBM4 status for the MI455X are the strongest evidence here. Whether SK hynix or a foundry partner adds capacity is not yet established.
- Breadth of systems and software. The ROCm link to Korean startups is AMD’s attempt to widen its software and partner base. The reporting does not measure how far that base extends.
- Integration of domestic NPUs with CPUs and GPUs. The heterogeneous model is a plan. Its value depends on whether it runs real workloads.
- Conversion into deployed infrastructure. The research center, the demonstration project and the roundtable have no reported completion dates or supply quantities.
The coverage supports the partnership and supply-chain framing. It does not include a product performance comparison between AMD and Nvidia, so no claim about relative speed, efficiency or price should be drawn from these reports.
What is still unconfirmed
- Any Samsung or SK hynix foundry arrangement for AMD chips.
- Chip supply quantities, for either the memory agreements or the Korean demonstration project.
- The location of the Korean AI research center, and the date it opens.
- Whether the 14-company roundtable has produced deployed systems or purchase commitments.
- Exact quotations drawn from SBS’s English text, which is AI translated.
Most of these gaps should narrow as AMD, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korean companies publish official details. Until then, the reliable reading is that AMD is building Korean relationships around memory supply, software compatibility and domestic AI chips, and has not yet announced what those relationships will deliver in volume.
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