Amid rumors that Apple, one of TSMC’s most important customers, may delay adoption of the foundry giant’s 2nm process until 2026, The Commercial Times, citing Chosun Ilbo and SamMobile, said: Reports suggest that NVIDIA and Qualcomm are following suit as well. It is reported that the company is considering switching its cutting-edge chip to Samsung’s 2nm.
High costs and limited production capacity could cause two major U.S. semiconductor companies to think twice, the report said.
In addition to TSMC, Japan’s Rapidus and South Korea’s Samsung Foundry are also aiming to mass produce 2nm-class nodes. Among them, TSMC is leading the race. 2nm yield is reportedly reaching 60%, and the node is expected to go into mass production in 2025, although prototyping is rumored to begin in April.
Meanwhile, according to Chosun Ilbo, Samsung will start test production of 2nm in the first quarter of 2025. According to MoneyDJ, Rapidus is building a factory in Chitose, Hokkaido, and aims to mass produce 2nm wafers in 2027.
Apple is reportedly sticking with TSMC’s N3P for A19 as well.
But Apple’s decision to continue using TSMC’s N3P process to manufacture the A19 processor used in the 2025 iPhone 17 is certainly raising concerns.
Notably, TSMC is gradually increasing its 2nm capacity, a process that is commercially viable and could be more widely adopted later. According to the Commercial Times, TSMC’s 2nm production capacity is expected to increase from 10,000 prototype wafers to 80,000 wafers per month by 2026.
Samsung attracts attention as global tech giant and local IC company
As a result, TSMC’s 2nm is expensive and has limited capacity, so Samsung is attracting interest from domestic fabless companies in addition to existing customers such as Japanese AI startup Preferred Networks (PFN). The daily report points out that. Additionally, the company is reportedly diversifying its foundry partners, testing its 2nm process with major tech companies such as NVIDIA and Qualcomm.
This is not the first time that TSMC and Samsung have engaged in a close battle at the behest of Qualcomm. The South Korean semiconductor giant reportedly lost some of its Snapdragon flagship orders from Qualcomm starting in 2020, although 5nm yields had raised concerns.
According to a new report from The Bell, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, scheduled to be released in the second half of 2025, will be produced using TSMC’s N3P process. Samsung reportedly contested the deal but ultimately lost.
Can the company turn the tide with 2nm? A Chosun Ilbo report suggests this could be the last chance for Samsung’s foundry business, which is currently facing billions of dollars in losses.
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(Photo courtesy of Samsung)
This article quotes the following information: commercial times, Chosun Ilbo, sam mobile, The Bell and money dj.
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