Industry regulators believe Samsung’s foundry businessso-called yieldquestionAnd having lost several key customers - the Korean giant appears to be working hard to improve the manufacturing process it is currently developing, i.e.2 nm GAA(aka SF2). Semiconductor industry insiders believe TSMC remains in the lead with its recently completed 2-nanometer design trials, but rumors of price increases have reportedly unnerved some important customers.
According to a new report from Sedaily, Qualcomm has launched negotiations with Samsung foundry executives - semiconductor industry insiders claim that "Snapdragon 8 Elite second-generation products" are the main topic of discussion between the two parties. Previously, this next-generation flagship mobile chipset was rumored to use TSMC's 3nm process, but new rumors indicate that the company may spin off a company using a "more advanced 2nm process" - which is produced by Samsung Electronics' top factory "S3" in Hwaseong.
Sedaily and Jukanlosreve estimate mass production of the cutting-edge chip will begin early next year.
Earlier today, Jukanlosreve added more speculation/background via a lengthy social media announcement: "The completed chip is expected to be integrated into Samsung Galaxy smartphones scheduled to be launched in the second half of 2026. Design work will be completed in the second quarter of 2025, after which volume production preparations will begin, with wafer production starting in the first quarter of 2026. The expected output is approximately 1000 12-inch wafers per month. Given that Samsung's current 2nm production capacity is approximately 1000 12-inch wafers per month At 7,000 wafers, the project will only utilize about 15% of its available capacity - indicating that this is a small order rather than a large-scale one."
These predictions have surprised many industry observers; Samsung leadership appears to have attempted to prioritize the design of its own Exynos mobile processors in future flagship Galaxy smartphone devices. Jukanlosreve believes that given the poor performance of Samsung foundries over the past five years, the company is eager to seize any new "golden opportunities."
An insider who asked not to be named believes that "the cooperation with Qualcomm may lead to orders from other large technology companies." Sedaily asked Samsung headquarters about the latest internal conversations, and a company spokesperson responded: "We cannot confirm any information related to customer orders."
