Comparative Analysis for Two Alliances’ Sustainability of AI Chip Industry; SK Hynix-TSMC-NVIDIA vs. Intel-Naver-SEC

The AI chip market power of NVIDIA is to be expected to grow as the alliance partnership between SK Hynix and TSMC is to be stronger than before. The SK Hynix takes the lead in supplying HBM that is a core part of AI chip, and TSMC has been an exclusive foundry partner of NVIDIA since the foundation. The purpose of Intel-Naver-SEC alliance is to reduce the dependence of NVIDIA’s AI accelerator by developing a new AI accelerator without using NVIDIA’s GPU. This study tried to access the sustainability of these two alliances by analyzing three points, the management performance trend of two alliances’ partners, management strategy type and AI chip value chain engagement condition. As a result, firstly, the management results of SK Hynix-TSMC-NVIDIA alliance have been better than those of Intel-Naver-SEC alliance since 2012. In particular, the management results of TSMC and NVIDIA have been less sensitive to economic cycle than those of others. Secondly, all the partners of SK Hynix-TSMC-NVIDIA alliance have concentrated on a single business, but all the partners of Intel-Naver-SEC alliance have driven the multiple businesses, that is a diversification strategy. Thirdly, the collaboration process of SK Hynix-TSMC-NVIDIA alliance on the AI chip value chain is more simple and clear that that of Intel-Naver-SEC alliance. Above all, the conflict of interests of Intel-Naver-SEC alliance is highly possible to occur due to a fight for hegemony in developing a new AI accelerator.