After a challenging 2024, Samsung Foundry is stepping into 2025 on a positive note. Reports indicate significant progress in its 2nm yield rates, improving much faster than its 3nm process. Major fabless companies like Nvidia and Qualcomm have begun testing Samsung’s 2nm technology. These firms had previously shifted to TSMC due to its struggles with poor 3nm yields.
Things are suddenly looking good for Samsung Foundry’s 2nm process
Samsung’s foundry division had a forgettable 2024, with its market share dropping below 10%. On the other hand, its arch-rival TSMC strengthened its dominance, capturing about 66% of the global foundry market. The Taiwanese firm secured 3nm contacts from all major industry players as Samsung struggled to improve its 3nm yield rates.
But as the industry shifts towards the 2nm era, things are suddenly looking good for Samsung Foundry. According to the Korean media, Samsung’s 2nm yield is improving fast. While TSMC still has a superior yield, many fabless chip companies are looking to switch to Samsung or at least split their chip orders between the two foundry giants.
This comes amid rumors of TSMC increasing the prices of its advanced process nodes. Since it holds a lion’s share in the foundry market, and also has a technological advantage over Samsung, the Taiwanese firm may still get away with a price hike. However, its 2nm production capacity is too small to cater to the growing demand of the AI era. It’s the perfect opportunity for Samsung to bounce back.
Time will tell whether the Korean behemoth can cash in on this opportunity. A price hike from TSMC coupled with its limited 2nm production capacity has forced companies to look for alternatives, and there’s no better option than Samsung. Both firms will begin 2nm mass production sometime next year. Samsung might ship the Galaxy S26 series with its 2nm Exynos 2600 processor in some regions.
