Qualcomm’s Strategy Of Wanting To Fabricate Snapdragon Chipsets On Samsung’s 2nm GAA Process Could Complicate The Latter’s Exynos Business – Here’s How

Qualcomm has been reported to be in talks with Samsung to mass produce its current flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and that too, a few months after Samsung had reportedly sent the San Diego firm samples for evaluation. From the looks of it, Qualcomm could be successful in finally achieving its dual-foundry strategy, while Samsung would record another win in its column by securing a chip customer, and that too, a lucrative one. However, a report highlights a problem for the Exynos division if Qualcomm is added as a partner and discusses some valuable pointers on what can happen if this partnership materializes.

Samsung could be appeased by Qualcomm to mass produce Snapdragon chipsets on the Korean giant’s own lithography to make up a higher percentage of Galaxy S smartphones compared to Exynos

With the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 estimated to cost $280 per unit, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro could easily end up crossing the $300 threshold, with a previous rumor stating that Qualcomm’s first 2nm SoC will only be found in most premium of Android devices, and the regular Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 making up the majority of shipments. Seeing no end to these rising chipset costs thanks to exclusively sticking with TSMC, Qualcomm aims to set up shop at Samsung’s foundry. DigiTimes reports three reasons why a partnership with the Korean technology behemoth would form, with the first mentioned above.

As for the second, Qualcomm aims for diversification, with the third reason highlighted as ‘strategic leverage.’ Using Samsung’s 2nm GAA process and possibly the second-generation iteration called SF2P, Qualcomm aims to use the company’s technologies to increase its chipset share of Galaxy S smartphones. Given that the manufacturer often sets up unfair business agreements, like the one where Samsung would have to pay a hefty fine if the Galaxy S26 Ultra doesn’t exclusively ship with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, Qualcomm may only agree to place orders if Samsung agrees to ship the majority of its flagship devices with a Snapdragon SoC.

While that’s a plus for Samsung’s semiconductor business as it will result in more orders, the Mobile Experience segment has to pay more for Snapdragon chipsets instead of a smaller sum for using Exynos, negatively impacting the company’s smartphone business due to the increased expenditure. Even though Samsung has secured a $16.5 billion deal with Tesla and two Chinese cryptocurrency equipment mining companies to place orders on its 2nm node, the boon it shall receive from Qualcomm on the list will be everlasting. However, Samsung has to make more efforts on its end because with its 2nm GAA yields at only 50 percent, the number must jump to at least 70 percent to convince Qualcomm.

News Source: DigiTimes

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