Samsung has been struggling in its semiconductor business division due to low yield on the 3nm node and sluggish orders from its major clients. However, some good opportunities are coming for the Korean firm as industry leader TSMC is reportedly planning to increase its chip prices. This will help Samsung attract major clients by offering chips at a lower price than TSMC.
TSMC will increase its foundry quotation by 30%
According to a report from Digitimes, TSMC is ramping up capacity expansion at its US semiconductor plant, with plans to increase foundry prices by 30%. Currently, TSMC’s US plant produces only 20,000 to 30,000 wafers per month, so it is speeding up its capacity expansion. On top of that, as it is getting more orders from multiple customers, it has decided to increase the price of its chips.
TSMC’s US factory has several major clients, including American companies like Apple, AMD, and NVIDIA, with Apple being the largest. Now that TSMC is planning to increase prices, it’s a great opportunity for Samsung to attract these fabless companies — if it offers a competitive deal. Some reports say Apple and AMD are already reviewing Samsung’s 2nm process, which recently exceeded 40% yield.
Samsung has been building its semiconductor manufacturing plants in Taylor, Texas. However, it has delayed its plan for the production of chips to 2026 due to weak orders from its clients. It aims to produce advanced chips for applications such as mobile, 5G, high-performance computing (HPC), and artificial intelligence (AI). Now, if it takes risks and begins mass production this year at its Taylor plant, it may attract many fabless companies.
Due to the uncertainty regarding the implementation of US tariffs on semiconductor chips, industry analysts expect that customer demand in the first half of 2025 will be higher. This could be an additional opportunity for Samsung to recover its struggling semiconductor business.
Despite being the second-largest foundry in the world, Samsung’s foundry market share has fallen further behind TSMC’s. If Samsung takes advantage of these unique opportunities — rising customer demand and TSMC’s price increases — it may get back on track in the coming years.
