The Nexus for Silicon Intelligence – Connecting Semiconductor Innovation in the AI Era

AI technology is accelerating innovation across all industries, bringing the semiconductor industry to a critical turning point. As AI systems grow in scale and complexity, innovation can no longer be achieved through advanced process technology alone. We have entered an era where organic collaboration and integrated optimization across the entire semiconductor ecosystem — from design and IP to packaging, manufacturing, and software — are essential.

In response to these demands, Samsung Foundry hosted its annual SAFE™ Forum 2026 on May 28^th in San Jose, California. Under the theme, “The Nexus for Silicon Intelligence,” Samsung Foundry shared its vision for the future of the semiconductor industry in the AI era and emphasized the absolute importance of ecosystem collaboration.

A process innovation roadmap for the AI era

The forum opened with a presentation by Jong-shin Shin, Head of the Design Platform Development Department at Samsung Electronics. During the session, Mr. Shin outlined Samsung Foundry’s process technology roadmap, highlighting the company’s continued focus on strengthening power, performance, and area (PPA) competitiveness through Design Technology Co-Optimization (DTCO) and advancements in SRAM technology.

He also demonstrated how Samsung Foundry’s advanced process technologies are addressing the demanding requirements of the AI and high-performance computing (HPC) markets, citing customer use cases in HBM base die and UFS applications. In addition, Mr. Shin shared the latest developments in AI-based Auto Migration technology and highlighted key advancements achieved over the past year in collaboration with SAFE™ partners, reinforcing Samsung Foundry's commitment to accelerating customer innovation through ecosystem collaboration.

"These achievements would not have been possible without the dedicated cooperation of our valued partners. I would like to express my deep gratitude to our EDA, OSAT, IP, and DSP partners. In the AI era, the growth of our partners leads directly to the growth of our customers. I expect this growth to be further accelerated through the SAFE™ platform."

Enabling silicon intelligence through design innovation and ecosystem expansion

The proliferation of AI workloads is making chip design more sophisticated while accelerating the need for faster time-to-market. Consequently, Samsung Foundry presented updates on its infrastructure and IP ecosystem expansion, centered on its DTCO strategy to simultaneously optimize design and process technologies for the implementation of next-generation AI semiconductors.

Ho (Hyung-ok) Kim, Head of the Design Technology Team at Samsung Electronics, shared methods to maximize PPA by introducing an integrated optimization approach for standard cells and block place-and-route (P&R). He also explained the potential for next-generation AI system implementation through "Intelligent Design Flow," which drastically increases design productivity through collaboration with EDA partners, and “Multi-Die Design Flow,” which enables advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration beyond traditional 2D design.

Following this, Ben (Hyo-gyeom) Ryu, Head of the IP Development Team at Samsung Electronics, introduced various solutions supporting the AI, HPC, and automotive semiconductor markets, based on a robust IP portfolio spanning process nodes from 8nm to 2nm. In particular, he presented a comprehensive infrastructure to improve design productivity, including AI-based migration technology, PPA optimization packages, power integrity/signal integrity (PI/SI) solutions, and EDA methodologies. By sharing success stories involving chiplets, Big Die (large-scale AI processors), and 3D architectures, he reaffirmed that a strong design ecosystem is a core foundation for technological innovation.

The value of collaboration proven in the field

A highlight of the forum was the opportunity to hear real-world collaboration use cases shared by global customers and partners.

• Synopsys: Sassine Ghazi, President & CEO of Synopsys, identified AI-dedicated semiconductors as the key to creating new value in the AI era. He mentioned the importance of AI-based EDA solutions and multiphysics co-design technology, suggesting that the innovative collaboration model being built with Samsung Foundry will become the standard for ecosystem-based innovation.

• Qualcomm Technologies: Tony Pialis, EVP & GM, Data Center, Qualcomm Technologies, highlighted the evolution of the AI industry from 'Generative AI' to 'Agentic AI,' which can independently judge and execute tasks. He emphasized that future AI systems will move beyond simple computational power to prioritize memory management and real-time execution optimization. He stressed that an integrated design approach—unifying compute, memory interconnect, advanced packaging, and software into a single system—will be essential, expressing a strong commitment to collaborating with Samsung Foundry.

A new nexus of semiconductor innovation

The core message of the forum was clear: semiconductor innovation in the AI era cannot be achieved by a single company or technology alone. It requires ecosystem collaboration, where every element — including process technology, design, packaging, and software — is closely connected and optimized together.

Samsung Foundry is building these vital connections with its customers and partners to help enable next-generation AI platforms. “The Nexus for Silicon Intelligence” is more than just an event theme; it represents Samsung Foundry’s vision of how the semiconductor industry must evolve and collaborate in the age of AI.