Samsung’s foundry business is reportedly in discussions with potential clients for its advanced 2-nanometer chip manufacturing technology. While Qualcomm is a possibility due to a potential 2nm project with Samsung, Tesla is considered a more likely customer, according to Ray Wang, research director of semiconductors, supply chain, and emerging technology at The Futurum Group.
Samsung’s foundry service, which manufactures chips based on designs provided by other companies, is the second-largest global provider, trailing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. In April, Samsung announced its ambition for its foundry business to commence mass production of its next-generation 2-nanometer technology and to secure important orders for this advanced product. Smaller nanometer sizes in semiconductor technology indicate more compact transistor designs, leading to enhanced processing power and efficiency.
Samsung is scheduled to release its earnings on Thursday and anticipates a more than 50% drop in its second-quarter profit. An analyst previously attributed this projected decline to weaker orders for its foundry business and challenges in capturing AI demand for its memory products. The company has lagged behind competitors SK Hynix and Micron in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip market, a crucial component for AI chipsets.
SK Hynix, the current leader in HBM, is the primary supplier of these chips to Nvidia. While Samsung has reportedly been working to obtain certification for its latest HBM chips from Nvidia, a local outlet has suggested that these plans have been postponed until at least September.
