With the Samsung Galaxy S25 series’ release around the corner, Samsung Foundry is reportedly facing a setback with its in-house 3nm Exynos 2500 processor. The latter was initially planned for the S25 and S25+ variants in select regions. Due to low yield rates, Samsung may not be able to mass production the Exynos 2500.
Samsung Foundry is struggling with 3nm processors — and Exynos 2500 has fallen to prey
Samsung Foundry is facing tough times, with the Exynos 2500 now directly affected. A report from South Korean publication NewsWay suggests a yield rate below 20%, making mass production of the Exynos 2500 challenging. For context, a yield rate below 20% means that out of every 100 processors manufactured, only 20 pass Quality Control (QC) checks. However, things remain fruitful for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which is expected to house Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC.
While Samsung typically outsources processors from other major chipmakers such as TSMC, it also runsits own in-house Samsung Foundry. As you’d expect, allocating business within a large company often saves costs. But the low yield rate may push Samsung to consider other alternatives. What’s expected is, Samsung may turn to MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 for the Galaxy S25 lineup.
Foundry division continues to face financial challenges
Samsung’s foundry division is already facing financial troubles, and the current production issues could make things worse. To put this into perspective, it’s expected to lose up to 1 trillion won in the third quarter. Samsung has aimed to reduce its reliance on outside chipmakers like Qualcomm by making its own Exynos processors. But low output from its 3nm process could force it to rely more on external suppliers.
Such low yields are not only a setback for Samsung’s System LSI division, which designs the Exynos chips, they also affect other clients that depend on Samsung’s foundries for their chip needs. Furthermore, there are also talks that Samsung Foundry may split from Samsung Electronics in next 3 to 5 years. What’s important to note, despite the hurdles and low yield rates lately, Samsung Foundry remains second-largest semiconductor foundry globally.
