Samsung Ushers in the AI Revolution with Memory and Storage Solutions for Ultra-High Capacity and Performance at FMS 2024

Next-generation storage solutions breaking barriers to meet the rapid demands for data-intensive AI applications  

Samsung Electronics, an industry leader at the forefront of the AI revolution, showcased its memory and storage solutions for the growing demands of the AI era at FMS 2024, held at the Santa Clara Convention Center from August 6 to 8. FMS: The Future of Memory and Storage, formerly known as the "Flash Memory Summit," has broadened its focus beyond flash memory to encompass all tiers of memory and storage. 

With the growing prevalence of AI, we are experiencing a global paradigm shift. Samsung highlighted its ability to adapt to this shift by exploring the theme “The AI Revolution: Fueling New Demands for Memory and Storage." The company unveiled its new V9 wafer for the first time, along with new SSD and DRAM products that address the need for high-capacity, extreme performance, and low-power solutions.  

Keynote speakers included Jim Elliott, EVP of Memory Sales at Samsung Electronics America, Hwaseok Oh, EVP of Solution Product Engineering, and Taeksang Song, CVP of DRAM Solution.

Sangyeun (Paul) Cho, EVP of Product Planning at Samsung Electronics America, joined a panel discussion hosted by NVIDIA. The panel included industry experts who share an understanding of memory and storage limitations and the need for rapid innovations for AI workloads. Cho emphasized the importance of prioritizing customization for next-generation product competitiveness and highlighted the need for low-power and high-capacity solutions as large language models (LLMs) grow in complexity. Cho added that Samsung also plans to focus on enhancing the reliability, availability, and serviceability for thermal solutions.

Storage Optimization for the AI Era

Emerging AI applications demand greater capacity, faster speeds, and lower power consumption compared to traditional applications. Samsung is addressing this demand by becoming the first to mass-produce 9th-Gen V-NAND technology. The company showcased its groundbreaking V9 triple-level cell (TLC) for the first time at this year's FMS and expressed confidence in its mass-production capabilities. The new V9 TLC has the world's highest bit density, enhanced IO speed and power efficiency, and is optimal for AI development.

Samsung unveiled a first look at its PM1753 low-power 16ch SSD that meets the high throughput demands for AI applications. The PM1753, designed to handle heavy write loads and large-scale training data, was showcased with V9 NAND TLC technology. The BM1743 was also unveiled for the first time as the industry’s highest-capacity quad-level cell (QLC) SSD. With a 64TB BM1743 model ready for mass production, development of the 128TB model is expected to be completed by November 2024. Samsung received the “Most Innovative Memory Technology” award for its BM1743 128GB QLC, accepted by Hwaseok Oh in an official ceremony at FMS 2024.

Thermal Solutions for the Next Evolution of Storage

Breakthroughs in thermal technology are essential for elevating next-generation storage innovations. Samsung is actively developing materials and designs that reduce thermal resistance and form factors for resolving higher levels of heat dissipation. The company is also researching technology to develop SSDs compatible with immersion cooling environments. Tests are conducted in single-phase and two-phase thermal environments according to customer needs. Samsung has completed single-phase thermal tests without failure for more than 7,000 hours and has designed a heatsink optimized for immersion cooling, resulting in a 28% improvement in thermal efficiency. 

Next-Generation High-Capacity and High-Bandwidth Memory Solutions

With the rapidly increasing demand for AI, requirements for system performance and memory bandwidth are growing significantly each year. High capacity and high bandwidth are requirements to support complex AI workloads. Samsung is meeting ultra-high capacity demands with its DDR5 RDIMM and DDR5 MCRDIMM (Multiplexed Combined Rank DIMM) solutions. The DDR5 MCRDIMM is pushing capacity to an extreme level, with a 512GB version to be released early next year.

Scaling Memory Capacity and Bandwidth with CXL

A key pillar in Samsung’s next-generation memory solutions is CXL¹ Memory Modules (CMMs). CXL solutions are one of the most efficient ways to address the rapidly growing demand for high capacity in the AI era, enabling memory sharing and expansion seamlessly without additional infrastructure investment. Alongside the CMM-D, CMM-H, and CMM-B, Samsung is actively investigating next generation memory solutions for AI applications with scalable memory solutions that directly connect a memory pool to GPUs or GPU switches.

Expanding Memory Limits, Expanding AI Possibilities

At Samsung's booth, visitors were able to see the latest memory and storage products, which the company unveiled during its keynote speech. The booth was bustling with excitement as industry peers networked and shared insights about future innovations.

Samsung's lineup of groundbreaking products announced at this year's FMS provided a glimpse into the future of memory and storage innovation. As we enter a new era, the company remains committed to redefining and expanding the limits of memory capacity and performance to meet customer needs for whatever challenges lie ahead.

_{¹ Compute Express Link}