TSMC's 'bottled up' supply lines are now pushing customers to see alternative chip sources, and according to a new report, Samsung Foundry is one of the leading candidates.
Meta, Qualcomm & AMD Are Now Exploring Samsung Foundry As an Option For Their Future Products
The Taiwan chip giant is currently one of the most 'sought-after' entities in the semiconductor world, given that TSMC is responsible for a massive portion of the global foundry revenue. Not just from mobile-focused customers like Apple, Qualcomm, and MediaTek, but TSMC also sees tremendous demand from HPC clients like NVIDIA and AMD, which has ultimately put massive pressure on the company's production lines. According to a report from the Korean media, fabless manufacturers that aren't as mainstream as TSMC's primary customers are now looking to Samsung Foundry for their chip needs.
As TSMC raises prices for its 2nm process and orders surge, global big tech companies are turning their attention to Samsung Electronics to diversify their supply chains. The saturation of the leading supplier's production capacity presents a clear opportunity for the second-largest supplier.
- Sedaily
One of the biggest concerns manufacturers have with TSMC right now is that the chip giant is unable to provide sufficient capacity on time, according to reports from the past few weeks. The Taiwan chip giant is known to be a customer-oriented foundry, which means that it does cater to all supply requests coming towards it, but right now, the priority for fabless manufacturers is how quickly they could bring their solutions in the industry, which is why placing orders at a foundry which is facing constraints is a risky move, which is why Samsung Foundry is being considered an option.
The report mentions that Meta is looking to place orders for their MTIA ASICs at Samsung Foundry, and the AI giant could opt for the SF2 process, judging by the progress being made by the Korean giant. Qualcomm and AMD are also rumored customers for Samsung Foundry as well, and while the shift is driven by the advancements Samsung's foundry division has made over the years, the primary reason for the interest is that these customers are a 'spill-off' from TSMC's orders, which is something Samsung looks to capitalize on.
Like Samsung, Intel Foundry is also reported to have seen interest in its 18A and 14A processes, driven by the company's status as a dominant American manufacturer, which is an attractive element for US-based fabless manufacturers. It would not be incorrect to say that the industry needs diversification within chip supply lines, which is why Samsung and Intel could experience relatively larger external adoption for their chips moving forward.
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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