Samsung Foundry is now in talks with AMD to supply its 2nm (SF2) process for next-generation CPUs, as the Korean giant aims for a massive comeback in the foundry industry.
Samsung Is Now Looking to Secure AMD as a 2nm Customer, As it Looks to Regain Foundry Momentum
Well, Samsung hasn't managed to become a mainstream foundry when it comes to external customer adoption, mainly since its arch-rival TSMC has been the go-to spot for clients like Apple, AMD, and even Tesla. However, given that the Taiwan giant faces supply constraints, and that Samsung has now massively improved its foundry operations, it is reported by Sedaily that, after Tesla and Apple, AMD is in talks with Samsung Foundry to collaborate on the SF2 process, and it is disclosed that both companies are working on a "next-generation CPU", likely for EPYC Venice CPUs.
The two companies plan to finalize the contract around January of next year after evaluating whether the process can actually achieve the performance level AMD demands. However, the industry believes that production is likely.
- Sedaily
Samsung Foundry has secured substantial contracts with Apple and Tesla over the past few months, which have significantly boosted the division's momentum in securing external contracts. One of the major reasons we suggest that AMD may use Samsung Foundry for EPYC Venice is that the data center CPU is currently being fabbed on TSMC's 2nm node, and given that TSMC's production lines are massively constrained, opting for Samsung makes sense. More importantly, AMD's next major product utilizing 2nm technology is the EPYC Venice CPUs; hence, it would most likely be the CPU the reference is to.
The other possibility is the Olympic Ridge consumer CPUs, but their launch timeline is expected to be late 2026; hence, the current discussions don't seem to point towards the Ryzen CPU lineup for now. Given that EPYC Venice CPUs fabbed at Samsung actually meet AMD's requirements, the possibility of Olympic Ridge shifting to Samsung Foundry alongside TSMC would increase significantly. Nevertheless, it is claimed that Samsung plans to prototype AMD chips soon, and a breakthrough could be seen soon.
Given how massive AI has become, fabless manufacturers like AMD would eventually need to adopt a dual-sourcing strategy, given that TSMC alone cannot cater to the demand, given the pace at which it is increasing. Apart from Samsung Foundry, Intel is the next option for companies. While the 18A and 14A nodes are proving to be optimistic, customers will likely wait to see how internal products turn out before opting for Intel Foundry.
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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