Samsung Unveils Next-Generation AI Memory Technologies Including zHBM and 400-Layer NAND at FMS 2026

At FMS 2026, Samsung Electronics unveiled its next-generation AI memory portfolio, headlined by its zHBM concept model and V10 BV-NAND. The zHBM architecture vertically stacks memory directly above AI accelerators to reduce data travel distance, promising eight times the performance of HBM5 by 2029. Samsung also introduced its 400-plus-layer V10 BV-NAND, which increases storage density by 58% over V9. Meanwhile, rival SK Hynix countered with its own tiered memory system and High Bandwidth Flash technology.

Samsung zHBM vertical stacking technology

• ▪Samsung Electronics' zHBM is targeted for the 2029 timeframe and is expected to deliver approximately eight times the performance of HBM5
• ▪Samsung Electronics unveiled its zHBM concept model, a new memory architecture that vertically stacks High Bandwidth Memory directly above AI accelerators rather than alongside the processor
• ▪Samsung Electronics' zHBM can achieve more than 10 times the memory density of HBM5, triple energy efficiency, and reduce thermal resistance by more than half using next-generation wafer bonding
• ▪Samsung Electronics' zHBM technology is designed to minimize data travel distance between the AI processor and memory, delivering higher bandwidth and improved power efficiency

Samsung z-NAND latency reduction

• ▪Samsung Electronics' z-NAND technology is designed to minimize latency and enhance input/output performance to reduce bottlenecks caused by GPUs routing through CPUs and DRAM to access SSD data
• ▪Samsung Electronics' zNAND-O is optimized for edge AI environments supporting real-time, data-intensive AI applications by combining high space efficiency, improved I/O performance, and low latency
• ▪Samsung Electronics introduced zNAND-O, a next-generation high-performance NAND solution built on V-NAND technology, in development in four- and eight-layer versions

3D memory architecture performance gains

• ▪Samsung Electronics unveiled V10 BV-NAND, featuring a Bonding V-NAND architecture with more than 400 layers
• ▪Samsung Electronics' V10 BV-NAND increases memory density by approximately 58% over the previous V9 generation by applying wafer bonding technology to stack memory cells

SK Hynix HBF tiered memory

• ▪SK Hynix is developing High Bandwidth Flash, a next-generation memory technology that vertically stacks NAND dies on an interposer in a package to fill the memory gap between HBM and SSDs
• ▪SK Hynix is countering Samsung Electronics at FMS 2026 with a tiered memory system built on processing units, High Bandwidth Flash, and Compute Express Link
• ▪SK Hynix's Inference Memory Tiering Expansion architecture expands the memory hierarchy to HBM, DRAM, CXL memory, and SSD, improving AI inference efficiency by 35.7% compared to conventional designs

FMS 2026 AI semiconductor competition

• ▪The technological capabilities of memory semiconductor companies have become a decisive factor in AI infrastructure success as data movement bottlenecks between GPUs and memory emerge as a critical variable
• ▪Samsung Electronics showcased its next-generation AI memory portfolio and technology roadmap at the Future of Memory and Storage 2026 conference in Santa Clara, California