Qualcomm was considered one of Samsung’s top five revenue resources. However, the San Diego company has shifted most of its chip orders to TSMC, dropping out of the Korean giant’s list of major contributors. These turn of events may explain why Samsung is eager to commence mass production of its second-generation 3nm GAA process in the second half of 2024, likely to impress Qualcomm and bring it back to the table.
Apple is mentioned as one of the top contributors to Samsung’s revenue
A quarterly report released by Samsung on May 16 and spotted by Business Korea reveals that Apple, Deutsche Telekom, Hong Kong Techtronics, Supreme Electronics, and Verizon were the five top contributors to the company’s revenue. All five companies accounted for 13 percent of the total, but interestingly enough, Qualcomm’s name was missing from the list, which is the first time this has happened since 2021.
Given that TSMC is progressing with advanced manufacturing processes and has shown immense reliability in terms of yields, Qualcomm has little choice but to become a permanent customer of the Taiwanese semiconductor giant. Samsung has had multiple opportunities to retain Qualcomm as a top-level customer, but it appears that TSMC has had the edge.
Earlier, we reported that Qualcomm decided to give all of its Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 orders to TSMC, with Samsung losing out due to poor yields. The chipset maker has been reported on multiple occasions to adopt a dual-sourcing strategy, where it would give orders to both Samsung and TSMC to save on costs, but from the looks of it, external factors have prevented Qualcomm from going down this route.
Samsung is rumored to have begun development of its 2nm GAA technology, but Apple’s Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams was recently reported to have visited Taiwan to secure the first 2nm wafer batch from TSMC. In short, the competition between the two foundries is picking up steam, so it is possible that Samsung’s current efforts force Qualcomm to evaluate its options, and it will start giving a significant percentage of its orders to the Korean foundry.
News Source: Business Korea
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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