Samsung Electronics is preparing to build a production-scale die-to-wafer (D2W) hybrid bonding line equipped with approximately 50 bonders at its Pyeongtaek semiconductor campus to support next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced logic chips. Equipment installation is expected to begin toward the end of this year.

According to industry sources on July 21, Samsung has selected Dutch advanced packaging equipment maker BE Semiconductor Industries (BESI) as its preferred supplier and has begun the procurement process for around 50 D2W hybrid bonding systems. The line is expected to be installed in the P5 fab at the Pyeongtaek campus.

Richard Blickman, chief executive officer of BESI, previously said during the company's first-quarter earnings call in April 2026 that "more definitive developments" regarding Samsung's adoption of its hybrid bonders were expected around the middle of this year. At the time, BESI's hybrid bonding equipment was undergoing Samsung's qualification process.

The order, however, has yet to be finalized. Samsung has requested design modifications to the equipment, delaying agreement on delivery schedules. Such modifications involve changes to system architecture, components or modules to meet customer-specific requirements.

Pricing has also complicated negotiations. Industry sources estimate that BESI's hybrid bonders cost roughly 6 billion won per unit—about twice the price of competing systems.

"BESI supplies hybrid bonders to companies such as TSMC and Micron, and it is reluctant to redesign its equipment exclusively for Samsung," one industry source said. "Samsung still considers BESI's technology the strongest option, but as negotiations become more complicated, it is also evaluating domestic suppliers that can respond more quickly to its requirements."

Samsung's semiconductor equipment subsidiary Semes has also been asked to provide D2W hybrid bonders for the production line and is hoping to supply equipment for two hybrid bonding production lines at the Pyeongtaek campus.

"Semes initially felt significant pressure after Samsung prioritized BESI, but sentiment has shifted recently," another industry source said.

Semes completed development of its D2W hybrid bonder earlier this year and delivered evaluation units to Samsung for performance verification. Industry sources believe the equipment has successfully passed internal testing.

Samsung is also considering Hanwha Semitech as a potential supplier. The company completed development of its second-generation D2W hybrid bonder, SHB2 Nano, in February and delivered an evaluation system to SK hynix in April 2026.

The evaluation platform was supplied as an integrated cluster that combined Hanwha Semitech's bonder and plasma activation module with an EFEM (Equipment Front End Module) from CyMechs and a wafer cleaning module from Zeus.

Samsung's investment in a D2W hybrid bonding production line at Pyeongtaek is closely tied to advanced packaging for HBM and logic semiconductors.

In addition to its existing advanced packaging operations in Cheonan, Samsung is developing next-generation hybrid bonding capabilities at Pyeongtaek for future HBM products.

Replacing conventional thermo-compression (TC) bonding with hybrid copper bonding (HCB) between HBM DRAM dies can significantly improve performance, reduce power consumption and lower heat generation. The technology directly bonds copper and dielectric materials without using microbumps, shortening interconnect distances between chips.

The technology is expected to play a key role in custom HBM (cHBM). Samsung plans to replace the conventional HBM base die with a customer-specific logic die incorporating proprietary compute intellectual property (IP). The logic die will complement external CPUs and GPUs while optimizing data transfer, with HBM DRAM stacks vertically integrated above it in a 3D system-in-package (SiP) architecture.

In June 2026, Samsung Foundry introduced 3D Cube-H, its next-generation hybrid bonding-based 3D vertical stacking solution. The heterogeneous integration technology targets AI chips and high-performance computing (HPC) systems, offering improvements in performance, power efficiency and bandwidth over existing packaging technologies. Samsung Foundry is actively promoting the technology to customers.

Hybrid bonding equipment is expected to begin arriving at Samsung's Pyeongtaek campus later this year. Internally, however, Samsung is targeting 2030 for large-scale commercial production using hybrid bonding, reflecting the technology's greater manufacturing complexity compared with conventional TC bonding.

One industry source said widespread adoption of hybrid bonding is likely to coincide with the introduction of NVIDIA's next-generation Feynman AI accelerator, expected around 2029.

The global semiconductor equipment market is expected to continue its rapid expansion on the back of artificial intelligence-driven demand, with annual sales projected to exceed $229 billion in 2028, according to SEMI.

The global semiconductor industry association said on July 21 that worldwide semiconductor equipment sales are expected to reach $165.9 billion in 2026, up 23.2% from a year earlier. The market is forecast to maintain a similar growth trajectory over the following two years, reaching a record $229.5 billion in 2028. If realized, the industry will post five consecutive years of growth beginning in 2024.

"AI has rapidly accelerated demand for more powerful and efficient semiconductors," said Ajit Manocha, president and chief executive officer of SEMI. "As chipmakers increase investment in advanced logic devices, next-generation memory, testing and packaging for the AI era, spending on semiconductor equipment is expected to remain on a strong growth trajectory."

The wafer fab equipment (WFE) market is projected to reach $143.9 billion this year, an increase of 23.1% from 2025. The WFE segment includes wafer processing equipment, mask and reticle equipment, and fab facilities equipment. Growth is being driven by investment in next-generation semiconductor technologies, including HBM-related DRAM and 3D memory.

SEMI expects the WFE market to expand another 21.8% in 2027 and 14.1% in 2028, reaching approximately $200 billion.

Within the WFE segment, foundry and logic equipment spending is forecast to rise 18.9% this year to $78 billion. The market is expected to grow another 18.1% in 2027 and 13.6% in 2028, reaching $104.7 billion. Capacity expansion for AI accelerators and high-performance computing (HPC) chips is expected to remain the primary growth driver, while the transition to volume production of 2-nanometer gate-all-around (GAA) process technology is likely to sustain equipment investment.

DRAM equipment spending is projected to increase 39% this year to $38.8 billion, followed by growth of 27.4% in 2027 and 15% in 2028, reaching $56.9 billion. NAND equipment spending is expected to rise 30.7% this year to $13.9 billion, before increasing 31.1% in 2027 and 14.5% in 2028 to $20.8 billion.

The back-end equipment market, which includes test, assembly and packaging equipment, is also expected to post strong growth. The segment is forecast to expand 31% this year to $15.3 billion and nearly double to $29.4 billion by 2028, including $20.8 billion in test equipment and $8.6 billion in assembly and packaging equipment.

SEMI said continued semiconductor miniaturization, rising device complexity, wider adoption of advanced packaging technologies and increasingly stringent reliability requirements will support long-term growth in the back-end equipment market.

By region, China is expected to remain the world's largest semiconductor equipment market through 2028, although its growth is forecast to moderate this year. Taiwan is expected to continue investing heavily in advanced process equipment for AI and HPC chips, while South Korea is projected to increase investment in advanced memory technologies, including HBM.

Kostek Systems has appointed Bae Geon-woo as its new chief executive officer, as the semiconductor equipment maker looks to accelerate growth by expanding shipments of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) process equipment to its key customer, Samsung Electronics.

The company held an extraordinary shareholders' meeting at its headquarters in Pyeongtaek on July 20, where Bae, the company's largest shareholder, was appointed as an inside director. At a subsequent board meeting, he was elected chief executive officer.

Kim Yong-seop, vice president of Kostek Systems, said Bae joined the company's product development team two years ago and has been involved across the business, including product development, sales, procurement, materials, manufacturing, human resources, administration and accounting.

"He has developed a deep understanding of the company and is an essential leader for its future management and growth," Kim said.

Bae is the eldest son of former CEO Bae Jun-ho. Born in 1991, he graduated from the University of Washington in 2018 and earned a master's degree in Interaction Science from Sungkyunkwan University in 2021. He joined Kostek Systems' product development team in 2024.

He owns a 46.59% stake in the company, consisting of 45.37% inherited from his father and an existing 1.22% personal holding.

Bae will lead the company alongside department heads who also serve as registered directors. He identified collective intelligence and rapid decision-making as the company's core management strategies.

"We will build an open organizational culture where employees can freely propose ideas regardless of rank or position," Bae said. "Given the importance of this period, we will also improve the speed of decision-making."

To support that strategy, the company plans to strengthen communication and collaboration across departments and implement organizational restructuring when necessary.

Kostek Systems expects to generate stable revenue this year from new equipment, including its Peel-off System and De-taper equipment. The company expects sales to increase several-fold over current levels as shipments of the equipment to Samsung Electronics ramp up.

The Peel-off System removes temporary bonding film (TBF) used during the temporary bonding/debonding (TBDB) process for HBM manufacturing. TBDB temporarily bonds a device wafer to a carrier wafer before through-silicon via (TSV) formation and etching, and includes the subsequent debonding process in which the carrier wafer is removed.

The De-taper system removes temporary protective tape used to protect chip bumps during fan-out panel-level packaging (FO-PLP) and 2.3D packaging processes.

Over the longer term, the company also plans to localize additional high-value semiconductor equipment, including Temporary Bonders (TBs). Rather than competing directly with established large equipment suppliers, Kostek Systems aims to focus on differentiated technologies and underserved "blue ocean" markets where localization opportunities remain.

"Our goal is to establish a differentiated position in the semiconductor equipment market through proprietary technology," Bae said. "Our core products and key customers are clearly defined, and our employees are fully aligned, giving us confidence in the company's rapid growth."

Founded in 2000, Kostek Systems develops semiconductor and display manufacturing equipment. The company reported revenue of approximately 19.2 billion won and an operating loss of about 740 million won in 2025.