It is no surprise, but Samsung Foundry has failed to win a manufacturing contract for Qualcomm’s next flagship processor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2. Qualcomm also declined its bid to produce the Snapdragon 8s Elite. Its arch-rival TSMC walked away with both 3nm contracts. Samsung plans to compete for the Snapdragon 8 Elite 3, a 2nm chip.
Samsung Foundry loses Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 contract to TSMC again
TSMC and Samsung are the world’s two largest semiconductor foundries, but that’s only part of the picture. While TSMC dominates the market with a nearly 66% share, Samsung languishes far behind with a market share of less than 10%. This disparity highlights the technological gap between the two, with TSMC’s chip fabrication processes widely considered superior to Samsung’s.
Unsurprisingly, most major fabless chip companies prefer the Taiwanese foundry. Qualcomm, which has switched between the two foundries several times in the past, has chosen TSMC for the past few years and won’t be switching back next year, the Korean media reports. It last used Samsung’s 4nm process for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in 2021.
Qualcomm has awarded TSMC the manufacturing contracts for the Snapdragon 8s Elite and Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, The Bell confirms. The former should be a watered-down version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite launched in October 2024 — Qualcomm’s first 3nm processor manufactured on TSMC’s second-gen 3nm process. For the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, TSMC will upgrade to its third-gen 3nm process.
While Samsung has also started mass production on its 3nm process nodes, its yield rate is significantly less than TSMC’s. Reports suggest the Korean firm has achieved a 3nm yield of around 60%, while TSMC exceeds 90%. Samsung’s 2nm yield is also far below its Taiwanese rival, though there’s still time to improve. Time will tell if Samsung can convince Qualcomm to switch to its 2nm process for the Snapdragon 8 Elite 3 in 2026 or if TSMC will once again secure the big contract.
