Samsung Electronics and Naver are showing subtle signs of conflict over the leadership of the AI semiconductor Mach-1, which they have been jointly developing. These two leading Korean IT companies teamed up to catch up with Nvidia by developing AI semiconductors. However, after about a year and a half, discord is emerging.
Lee Dong-soo, the executive officer of Naver Cloud, who is leading the Mach-1 project, posted on his social media on May 22. He wrote, “It was Naver who proposed to create Mach-1 first and planned its development, but now I don’t even see Naver’s name mentioned. I don’t know how to understand this.”
The Mach-1 is an AI semiconductor that does not require high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Compared to Nvidia’s AI semiconductors, it is expected to be cheaper and more power-efficient, making it suitable for startups developing AI models, not just big tech companies. Companies struggling to acquire Nvidia semiconductors are showing significant interest.
The relationship between the two companies began to show signs of strain in late March. Samsung Electronics announced its plans to develop the next project, Mach-2, at its shareholder meeting. However, Naver’s name was not mentioned, making it seem like Samsung was leading the Mach-2 development. Naver officials felt slighted, claiming that Naver had initially planned Mach-1 and provided the core ideas for the chip development. They feel Samsung is not giving them due credit. Samsung maintains that they are working well together, but Lee’s post suggests otherwise. There are also reports that Samsung was displeased with the news that Mach-2 would be jointly developed by Samsung and Naver.
Samsung and Naver have not yet produced its first product. Despite the long road ahead, the two companies seem to be entangled in a power struggle. Meanwhile, Nvidia, Google, and Microsoft are rapidly advancing their own AI semiconductor developments. It is hoped that, since these leading domestic companies have joined forces, they will focus on technological development rather than a power struggle and surprise the world with their semiconductor advancements.
