Samsung's chip operations in the US are now gaining the spotlight, as a report reveals the Korean giant is attracting massive interest from fabless customers.
Samsung's Prior Commitments With the Likes of NVIDIA & Apple Gives Them a Massive Edge Over Intel Foundry
Ever since fabs have started investing heavily in the US, there has always been a debate about the supply chain hierarchy, or who customers would go to as their secondary foundry option. Traditionally, the discussion hasn't taken much traction, given that the primary supplier, TSMC, has managed to meet chip demand for every fabless client, but with the AI frenzy, there's a severe supply chain bottleneck. This has prompted firms such as AMD, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Apple, and many others to seek a secondary supplier, and according to Deutsche Bank (via Jukan), Samsung Foundry is leading the race.
It is claimed that Samsung's Taylor fab is the next place for foundry customers looking for semiconductor services in the US, arguing that Intel's execution is facing challenges. The report notes that customers such as Qualcomm and AMD are looking to place orders with Samsung, likely around the company's 2nm process (SF2 and derivatives). The attraction of the Korean giant stems from its having already secured clients like NVIDIA and Apple for its foundry division, so customer confidence is higher relative to the likes of Intel.
Recently, reports disclosed that Samsung has decided to prioritize its Taylor facility by shifting production lines to 2nm and that the company is also investing in advanced packaging lines. Fabless manufacturers are looking for nodes that serve as viable replacements for TSMC's N3 process for now, and the only options available are Intel's 18A and Samsung's SF2, which are superior in terms of node class. The inclination of US manufacturers towards both Intel and Samsung clearly shows that there is room for more players in the chip industry.
It's important to note that foundry orders have yet to materialize in production lines, and this is the next major step for both Samsung and Intel as fabs. We do know that both chip manufacturers are racing to gain access to customers looking to invest in a 'dual-sourcing' chip strategy, so it will be interesting to see how the competition unfolds.
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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