Micron Signs Long-Term Auto AI Supply Pact With Hyundai Mobis, Qualcomm

Micron Technology has signed Strategic Customer Agreements, or SCAs, with automotive parts and platform companies including Hyundai Mobis, Qualcomm and Harman to supply semiconductors for in-vehicle artificial intelligence systems. Harman is a Samsung Electronics subsidiary. The companies will secure memory and storage for AI-based vehicle platforms under contracts lasting three to five years.

The agreements underscore how long-term supply deals are gaining traction as competition for memory chips intensifies with the spread of AI.

Micron said on July 16 it signed the SCAs with automotive parts companies and ecosystem partners for vehicle AI semiconductor components. Participants include Hyundai Mobis, Harman, Qualcomm, Visteon, Joynext, Denso and Astemo.

The companies will receive long-term supplies of memory and storage used in AI-based platforms such as in-vehicle infotainment, advanced driver-assistance systems, or ADAS, and connectivity systems. Micron said the agreements would provide greater certainty on supply and pricing, helping partners plan production and invest in developing and manufacturing technologies for future vehicle platforms.

The deals come as demand for memory semiconductors jumps with the rapid spread of AI tools and the industry races to expand capacity. The chips are used in data centers, consumer electronics and vehicles, supporting AI-enabled functions including ADAS and digital cockpits.

"Automakers are accelerating development of intelligent platforms based on advanced ADAS features to improve safety and driver confidence," Hyundai Mobis President Lee Gyu-seok said. "Through cooperation with Micron, we are helping build the foundation needed for future ADAS and software-defined vehicle architectures."

As vehicles become increasingly software-centric, automakers need technology platforms that integrate high-performance computing, connectivity, memory and storage, Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer Cristiano Amon said.

"As vehicles become more intelligent, memory and storage are core elements that enable the technology experiences consumers demand," Micron Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Mehrotra said. "This SCA will help secure the memory and storage needed for advanced vehicle platforms to deliver richer, safer and more intelligent experiences."

Micron, one of the world's three biggest memory makers alongside Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, is also the only US producer of high-bandwidth memory, or HBM. When it reported fiscal third-quarter results for March through May last month, the company said it had signed 16 SCAs. Unlike conventional long-term supply agreements negotiated annually, SCAs lock in volumes and prices in advance for three to five years.

That structure allows memory companies to gauge a significant share of long-term demand ahead of time, easing the hit from unexpected downturns known in the industry as a semiconductor winter. It also helps preserve, for a time, premium memory pricing set during global supply shortages.

Harman's participation is also notable. Samsung Electronics guaranteed the company independent management when it acquired Harman in 2017. "Meeting consumer expectations across the auto industry requires close collaboration across the technology ecosystem," Harman Chief Executive Officer Christian Sobottka said. "By working with key technology partners such as Micron, we are strengthening the memory and storage foundation needed to reliably deliver increasingly intelligent vehicle platforms."

Kang Kyung-ju, Hankyung.com reporter qurasoha@hankyung.com