SILICON VALLEY — Microsoft's head of artificial intelligence chip development has identified long-term supply of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) as a critical challenge in the AI race. As demand for AI development continues, HBM — the core infrastructure for inference — has grown scarce, prompting Big Tech firms to move from one- or two-year planning horizons to securing memory supply chains as far as five years ahead. The comments have also drawn attention to Microsoft's collaboration with SK hynix (000660), which has supplied HBM for the company's existing AI accelerator, the Maia 200.
Andrew Wall (pictured), general manager of Microsoft's Maia program, said in a video interview with The Seoul Economic Daily on the 7th local time that "Microsoft's supply chain team is working very closely with all memory companies to ensure sufficient HBM supply not only for Maia 300 but also for next-generation roadmaps beyond it."
Wall said the HBM industry is in a very constrained situation. "It is very important for us to establish a high level of trust such that we can place orders as much as five years in advance," he stressed. He added that Microsoft views the outlook positively when it comes to securing volumes with trusted partners.
Asked which companies supply which types of HBM, Wall said Microsoft does not disclose its suppliers, but added that the company is "working with all the major players to secure the supply needed for the Maia roadmap."
As the HBM supply crunch intensifies, not only Microsoft but also AMD has been visiting Korea to lock in as much as five years of supply in advance. AMD Chief Executive Lisa Su traveled to Korea on the 7th for the first time in seven months, meeting in succession with Samsung Electronics (005930) Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun and SK hynix President Kwak Noh-jung to secure HBM. At those meetings she discussed supply plans for next-generation memory, including sixth-generation HBM (HBM4), the leading-edge memory now central to AI. Speaking with reporters after AMD's Gamer Day event, Su said Korea is an important ecosystem for AMD and that the relationship requires a medium- to long-term partnership of three to five years or more rather than a short-term arrangement of one to three years. She said cooperation could extend beyond memory into areas such as foundry, or contract chip manufacturing.
Told of Su's trip to Korea, Wall said many similar visitors are likely arriving at Korean airports. "Our executives have tried many of the same approaches," he said. "HBM is clearly a major issue and constraint across the industry right now." Consistent with his remarks, SK Chairman Chey Tae-won and Kwak met Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Chief Executive Satya Nadella in the United States in February and May of this year, respectively, to discuss further HBM cooperation.