Nintendo's deal with Samsung Foundry to develop its Switch 2 SoC is said to be a turning point, since after the agreement, several leading firms are interested in partnering.
Samsung's Partnership With Nintendo Has Lured In AMD & Sony Into a Potential Chip Deal; Foundry Division Expected To See a Turnover
For those unaware, Nintendo Switch 2 is powered by a chip which NVIDIA exclusively designs, but the more interesting factor is Nintendo's decision to utilize Samsung over its long-standing partner TSMC. The main reason for prioritizing the Korean giant is that Nintendo utilizes their 8nm process, which is said to be a node that Samsung specializes in. This deal was claimed to be a pivotal moment for Samsung Foundry to open up to newer markets, and now, a report by DigiTimes has revealed that both Sony and AMD are interested in working with the Korean giant.
We previously discussed how Sony and AMD plan to develop a new "portable" gaming device with a custom low-power SoC under Project "Jupiter", which would likely employ Samsung's 2nm process. The report now validates this discussion, claiming that Samsung Foundry has been approached by new potential clients such as AMD and Sony. The bigger part of this story is that this marks one of the "rare moments" where Samsung Foundry has managed to beat TSMC in process adoption, and it seems like the momentum will continue.
Despite TSMC holding the reins in process superiority, Samsung is said to have higher production capacity, mainly since the company isn't busy catering to orders from NVIDIA. One of the major reasons why Nintendo opted for Samsung Foundry is that the manufacturer has higher production capacities, and Switch 2 is expected to exceed 20 million units in sales, generating over $1 billion in revenue for Samsung. While these are "rookie numbers" compared to TSMC, Samsung Foundry's key focus is rebuilding trust in the industry.
Samsung has been progressing quickly with its 2nm process, which is said to have yield rates comparable to TSMC's solution, and the Korean giant is expected to bag orders from NVIDIA, AMD, and now Sony. This might be one of the occasions where we could conclude that Samsung's foundry business is poised for a turnaround, but it's better to wait it out, since the Korean giant has often not delivered on expectations.
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
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