Samsung Electronics Co. will supply next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors to U.S. AI solutions firm Groq, the U.S. company has said.
The California-based fabless said Sunday (U.S. time) it contracted with Samsung Foundry to "solidify Groq's product roadmap with a U.S.-based foundry services provider."
Groq's new chips will "be designed in partnership with Samsung's Foundry Design Service team and manufactured by Samsung on its SF4X process (4nm)," referring to Samsung's advanced 4nm FinFET platform technology.
The new chips are expected to be produced at Samsung's new chip factory in Austin, Texas, in 2025.
Last year, Samsung, the world's largest memory chipmaker, broke ground in Taylor, Texas, to build a US$17 billion chip fabrication plant, with the goal of finishing construction by the end of this year and starting production next year.
"Samsung Foundry is committed to advancing semiconductor technology and bringing groundbreaking AI, high-performance computing and data center solutions to market," Marco Chisari, head of Samsung's U.S. foundry business, said.
"This relationship with Groq is another proof point of how we're using our advanced silicon manufacturing nodes to bring new AI innovation to market," he said.
Groq, founded in 2016 by Jonathan Ross, a former Google executive who helped design AI chips, is specialized in designing and producing chipsets for deep learning applications.
The new partnership, Groq said, will allow it to strengthen its "already completely North American-based operations for engineering and manufacturing, and will help maintain its high product availability and short lead times."
It is the first time a client of Samsung's Taylor fab has been officially revealed.
Kyung Kye-hyun, co-CEO at Samsung who is in charge of the tech giant's chip business, said last month 4nm chips will be shipped out from the Taylor factory by the end of next year.
"Major U.S. customers want their products to be produced here," he said in an Instagram post with a photo of the buildings under construction in Taylor.
Source: Yonhap News Agency