Samsung takes one step back to take critical step forward for its chips

In 2022, Samsung Foundry announced that it would start manufacturing chipsets with 1.4nm process node in 2027. Unfortunately, the South Korean tech giant has delayed the plan by quite a lot.

At SAFE Forum 2025 South Korea, Samsung has announced that it will start manufacturing 1.4nm chipsets in 2029 (via ET News), two years later than what it initially planned.

According to the publication, Samsung is taking this step for two reasons. First, its major customers interested in the 1.4nm fabrication process have left, which means that the technology will be under-utilised. Second, the company suffered KRW 4 trillion (~$2.9 billion) deficit last year, and during such times, the tech giant may not want to focus or spend money on something that may be underutilised or may not fetch it good profits.

Instead, Samsung will focus on enhancing the 2nm node process, which, as the brand had initially planned, will start manufacturing chips on it this year. That will include coming up with SF2P (2nd generation 2nm process) and SF2X (3rd generation 2nm process) by 2028. The tech giant may have decided to focus on improving 2nm instead of mass-producing 1.4nm as the former is close to mass production and there may be many customers interested in it, which may fetch it good profits.

Samsung Foundry’s main rival, TSMC, is expected to start mass producing 1.4nm chips in 2028, a year before the South Korean tech giant. That could hurt Samsung’s image. However, that's something the brand will have to go through to decrease the deficit and increase profits in the near future. ET News also says that the brand will also focus on improving utilisation rates of 4nm, 5nm, and 8nm fabrication processes, and thereby, enhancing profits from them.