Amid heightened concerns over China’s military threats to Taiwan and major companies like Apple, Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm seeking to diversify their supply chains, industry analysts suggest that Samsung Electronics’ advancements in 2-nm technology could present a significant opportunity for the company.
As of Dec. 12, there’s a growing belief in the semiconductor industry and international media that the foundry market, currently dominated by TSMC, could see a shift with the mass production of 2-nm processes.
The Financial Times reported on Dec. 11 that TSMC and Samsung Electronics have both showcased 2-nm prototypes to major clients like Apple and Nvidia. Sources indicated that Samsung Electronics offered more competitive pricing than TSMC.
Currently, the most advanced mass production technology is 3 nm. Both Samsung Electronics and TSMC are vigorously competing, aiming to mass-produce 2-nm products by 2025.
Samsung Electronics’ opportunity lies in its major clients adopting a “multi-vendor” strategy for their 2-nm supply chain diversification. TrendForce, a Taiwanese market research firm, while acknowledging TSMC’s critical role in producing AI products and GPUs, suggested that Samsung Electronics might receive additional orders.
An industry insider highlighted the potential for tumultuous cross-strait relations depending on the results of Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13. This uncertainty could lead clients to rely on TSMC as their primary partner while also allocating some orders to Samsung Electronics or Intel to mitigate supply chain risks.
Samsung’s cutting-edge Gate-All-Around (GAA) process, first applied globally at 3 nm and later by TSMC at 2 nm, is also seen as a game-changing factor.
In May, Samsung Electronics President Kyung Kye-hyeon expressed confidence in a lecture at KAIST in Daejeon, stating, “When we move to 2 nanometers, TSMC will also switch to GAA technology, and we will be on par with them.”
However, yield issues remain a hurdle for Samsung Electronics. Industry reports suggest that the yield rate for Samsung’s 3-nm GAA technology is around 60%, significantly below client expectations, particularly for high-performance products like Apple’s A17 chip or Nvidia’s GPUs.
Professor Lee Jong-hwan of Sangmyung University’s System Semiconductor Engineering department noted, “Starting with 2 nm, both companies will adopt the GAA process, different from the traditional FinFET process. Samsung, having already implemented the GAA process in its second-generation 3-nm technology, is expected to be more stable than TSMC, which is adopting it for the first time at 2 nm.”