(News) Samsung reportedly considering partnering with TSMC for joint production of Exynos 2500

According to a report by Wccftech, Samsung Electronics may consider partnering with an external foundry to produce Exynos 2500 processors for the first time. Wccftech’s report, citing South Korean media outlet The Bell, notes that although TSMC is not explicitly mentioned, it remains the only alternative for mass producing Exynos chips.

According to Wccftech, Samsung’s 3nm GAA process is struggling with low yields. As a result, the Exynos 2500 is unlikely to be included in next year’s Galaxy S25 smartphones. Instead, the Galaxy S25 relies entirely on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite processor.

After confirming that Exynos 2500 will not be installed in the Galaxy S25, Samsung’s semiconductor division LSI has shown its willingness to collaborate with external foundries. As Wccftech pointed out, citing an article in The Bell, the department is currently actively seeking partnerships with outside foundries to address ongoing challenges.

At the same time, Wccftech highlights that Samsung Foundry and TSMC are currently the only foundries capable of mass producing Exynos processors using advanced nodes.

However, according to a report from Wccftech citing The Bell, this does not mean that Exynos processors will be completely outsourced and the relationship with Samsung Foundry will be severed. Instead, Samsung is reportedly considering adopting a multi-foundry strategy to diversify production and ensure supply chain stability, extending beyond mobile, automotive and telecom to stabilize performance. It may be extended to other categories as well.

Nevertheless, Wccftech points out that TSMC is already operating at full capacity and questions whether it will accept additional orders. The report further notes that TSMC recently achieved a significant milestone by achieving 60% yield in 2nm prototyping. This suggests that mass production is not far away. Demand for 2nm wafers is reportedly higher than 3nm wafers, which further reduces the incentive for TSMC to cooperate with Samsung.

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(Photo courtesy of Samsung)