Samsung lost a lot of its semiconductor chip clients to TSMC over the past few years. First, it was Apple, and then Nvidia and Qualcomm switched from Samsung Foundry to TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company). However, it looks like the South Korean firm is on the cusp of getting some of its clients back, as AMD is reportedly using Samsung Foundry to make some of its future processors.
AMD Zen 5c chips could be made by Samsung's 4nm and TSMC's 3nm processes
Samsung Foundry has reportedly improved the performance and yield of its 4nm chip fabrication technology. While Samsung's yield and performance were trailing TSMC by quite some margin, they have reportedly now matched its Taiwanese rival. According to a report from Chosun Biz, Samsung Foundry's yield for its 4nm process exceeded the 70% mark in November 2022 and has now matched TSMC. Apparently, AMD has decided to use Samsung Foundry's 4nm and TSMC's 3nm processes for its next-generation processors that are based on the Zen 5c architecture.
It is rumored that the lower-end models in the Zen 5c lineup (codename Prometheus) will be made by Samsung Foundry's 4nm process, while the higher-end models will be fabricated using TSMC's 3nm process node. Since TSMC's 3nm process is believed to be not as mature as the 4nm process in terms of completeness, integration, and performance, it is speculated that AMD is viewing both processes on similar levels.
If Samsung successfully makes AMD Zen 5c chips, there is a higher chance that AMD might look at Samsung Foundry's new 3nm GAA process in the future. Kim Yang-paeng, a Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade researcher, said, “If Samsung successfully wins an order for AMD's 4-nano chips this time, it will open the door to transactions in the ‘big chip' field for servers, where Samsung has been weak. In the future, it will use cutting-edge processes such as 3-nano. This will be an opportunity for Samsung Foundry's influence to grow.”
The story continues after our Galaxy S23 FE review video below.
Samsung Foundry is an alternative to overburdened TSMC since the Generative AI boom
As of now, TSMC is the leader in high-performance chip fabrication, and its 3nm and 5nm processes are quite popular. There are only two companies in the world that are currently capable of making 3nm and 5nm chips: Samsung Foundry and TSMC. Since the Generative AI segment exploded in the past two years, following the launch of Open AI's ChatGPT and Dall-E, TSMC's chip production capacity has been overburdened. So, companies are now looking at Samsung Foundry's 3nm, 4nm, and 5nm process nodes as an alternative.
Samsung Foundry has launched improved versions of its 4nm and 5nm processes, offering improved yields and performance. The Exynos 2400 will be the first chip that uses Samsung's improved 4nm process. It is also expected to start the mass production of chips that use its second-generation 3nm process in the first half of next year. The yield of its 3nm process is reportedly close to the 70% mark. So, things are looking better for Samsung Foundry once again.
