Nvidia is reportedly steering Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron toward TSMC's 3nm process for the base dies of its NVHBM memory. Nvidia says the design targets up to 30% more bandwidth and 15% lower power than standard HBM4E.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will reportedly supply its 3nm process technology for the base dies of Nvidia's custom high-bandwidth memory stacks, a product line Nvidia calls NVHBM. The arrangement, reported on October 18, 2026, draws Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron into TSMC's orbit. For Samsung, it is reportedly the first time it has worked with TSMC on HBM base die manufacturing specifically.
What Nvidia wants from NVHBM
Nvidia announced NVHBM in August 2026 to standardize how custom HBM gets built, rather than letting each memory supplier take its own approach. The design moves Nvidia's own memory controller, the logic that directs traffic between memory and processor, into the base die.
Nvidia says NVHBM is designed to deliver up to a 30% increase in memory bandwidth and 15% lower power consumption compared with standard HBM4E. Moving the controller also optimizes area usage on the GPU compute die, freeing space Nvidia can use for other purposes.
To make this work consistently, Nvidia directed the three suppliers to use TSMC's 3nm process for their NVHBM base dies. The aim is standardization and a more reliable verification process across all three.
Three suppliers, three approaches
Samsung has agreed to use TSMC's technology for NVHBM, but plans to keep some in-house capacity for standard HBM and other customized memory products.
Micron, by contrast, plans to outsource both HBM4E and NVHBM base dies to TSMC and anticipates volume production by 2027. It also expects the shift to bring higher profitability.
SK Hynix previously used TSMC's 12nm process for earlier HBM4 base dies. It is now prioritizing the 3nm process for future HBM releases, including custom variants.
What to watch
The source frames the shift as part of a broader trend of memory makers moving base die production to TSMC. Three questions remain: whether Micron hits its 2027 volume production target, how much HBM work Samsung keeps in-house, and whether NVHBM delivers on its design goals in shipping products.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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