GoKawiilThe big picture: Samsung and TSMC are two of the largest chip manufacturers in the world, together accounting for more than 80% of the global market. While TSMC is the undisputed leader in advanced nodes with more than 70% market share, Samsung's foundry business has recently received a boost.
According to a report from Nikkei Asia, Samsung Foundry has either received orders from or is in negotiations with Google, Nvidia, Tesla, AMD, and BYD to manufacture advanced semiconductor chips based on sub-5nm nodes. Some of these companies previously worked exclusively with TSMC but are now engaging with Samsung to hedge their bets amid growing global uncertainty.
Google, which is reportedly designing its Tensor Processing Units for AI workloads in collaboration with MediaTek, is considering awarding Samsung a contract to manufacture a key part of these chips. The search giant is also said to be in talks with the South Korean company to produce its next-generation Axion AI accelerators.
The report claims Google is currently working with TSMC and Intel on advanced chip packaging and is a key driver behind the industry's shift toward a multi-foundry strategy. MediaTek is reportedly acting as an intermediary, helping the company negotiate with the three foundries for the production of its future SoCs, AI accelerators, and server chips.
Credit: Reuters
AMD is also said to be working with Samsung Foundry, as TSMC's advanced-node capacity (2nm and below) has already been pre-booked by Apple and Nvidia. The two companies recently signed a deal expanding their collaboration beyond memory supply, with Samsung rumored to have secured foundry contracts to manufacture AMD's future Epyc server CPUs using its second-generation 2nm node.
Qualcomm and Tesla have also signed new contracts with Samsung and TSMC to manufacture their future chips, after already working with both foundries for several years. According to the report, Tesla's A15 chip used in its vehicles and robotics platforms is manufactured by both Samsung and TSMC, while the next-generation A16 will reportedly be exclusively fabricated by the South Korean company at its Texas facility.
Another Elon Musk – led company, the neurotechnology startup Neuralink, has reportedly offered Samsung a lucrative contract to manufacture its next-generation brain implant chip. Groq, an Nvidia-backed startup developing AI accelerators, has also announced that its LP30 AI inference processor will be manufactured by Samsung Foundry on its 4nm process node.
Chinese EV giant BYD is another potential client reportedly in talks with Samsung about manufacturing its future automotive chips. According to a recent report from Seoul Economic Daily, the South Korean company is in "advanced discussions" with BYD to produce cutting-edge autonomous driving SoCs for its next-generation advanced driver-assistance systems.