Samsung Electronics is changing the planned use of the NRD-K Line 2 facility at its Giheung campus from a research site to a wafer foundry line focused on 2nm base chips used in Nvidia's HBM, or high-bandwidth memory. The line is expected to begin operating in the second half of 2028 under a "Send-Fab" model, in which wafers are received from other mass-production lines for selected processing steps. The shift is aimed at preparing earlier for rising HBM demand tied to AI infrastructure investment. Samsung plans to apply its 2nm process first to customized HBM and HBM5 to preserve a performance edge. Industry officials cited by ZDNet Korea said the relatively small scale of NRD-K Line 2 makes it suitable for the Send-Fab approach, but the line is still about two years from launch and its final role could change again depending on market conditions. Samsung had previously considered using the line for DRAM production, but that plan was revised this month, which would concentrate more DRAM capacity at its Pyeongtaek complex. Equipment purchase orders have not yet been formally issued.