Storage substrate manufacturer TLB launches SOCAMM3 substrate development
Korean storage substrate manufacturer TLB has started the development of the AI server low-power memory module specification SOCAMM3 substrate with two large domestic and foreign storage manufacturers. According to industry news on the 22nd, TLB recently began negotiating design directions and manufacturing processes with two existing storage customers, with specifications yet to be determined. The storage manufacturers plan to complete the design with the substrate manufacturers before finalizing the specifications, with actual substrate mass production expected in 2028.SOCAMM will make the low-power DRAM for mobile devices into a detachable AI server module, which will be first used by NVIDIA in its own AI servers. SOCAMM2 has developed into a JEDEC standard. Currently, each NVIDIA Vera CPU is equipped with 8 SOCAMM2 based on LPDDR5X, with a maximum capacity of 1.5TB per CPU and a bandwidth of 1.2TB per second. The SOCAMM2 substrate requires five layers, and the number of layers for SOCAMM3 will increase, raising the difficulty of processes such as micro-hole processing. The applicable systems have not been disclosed, and the mass production timeline in 2028 coincides with NVIDIA's roadmap. NVIDIA announced in March this year at GTC that it will launch the Feynman GPU and the new CPU Rosa in 2028.TLB's SOCAMM2 substrate has already entered mass production earlier this year, with production volume and sales in the second quarter increasing more than three times compared to the previous quarter. The production time and unit price are both about twice that of existing module substrates. The industry expects TLB's SOCAMM substrate sales to be around 70 billion Korean won this year, and about 140 billion Korean won next year. Brokers estimate the company's overall revenue this year to be about 350 billion to 370 billion Korean won, a year-on-year increase of about 40%, and around 450 billion Korean won next year. The company will begin construction of its second factory next month in the An Phu Industrial Park in Bac Ninh Province, Vietnam, aiming for production in the fourth quarter of next year, but SOCAMM substrates will still only be produced at the headquarters in Ansan in the short term.
