As the global artificial intelligence industry's demand for high-performance chips surges, the competitive landscape and pricing model of the semiconductor foundry industry are undergoing profound evolution. According to the latest reports from Korean media, Samsung Electronics has decided to significantly increase the wafer foundry prices for some of its advanced process nodes, by about 15%. This strategy echoes the comprehensive price adjustment recently adopted by TSMC, marking the semiconductor manufacturing industry is transforming from a traditional "demand-driven" model to a "supply-driven" model.
Before the wave of AI infrastructure construction swept the world, the semiconductor foundry industry usually maintained a pricing strategy of close cooperation with customers. Chip manufacturers often needed to determine production capacity and order requirements with foundries in advance based on market predictions of future products. However, the current supply of AI chips is extremely tight, and the imbalance between market supply and demand has given leading wafer foundries stronger bargaining power. In order to ensure priority access to manufacturing resources in an environment of tight production capacity, customers must bear higher foundry costs.
Samsung's price adjustment strategy this time shows obvious pertinence. Unlike TSMC's previous extensive price increases covering mature process nodes, Samsung's price increase mainly focuses on its core 5nm and 4nm manufacturing processes. Industry analysts believe that this move not only reflects the strong market demand for AI chips, but also implies that wafer foundries are facing increasingly heavy investment pressure and R&D costs when upgrading advanced process technologies.
Although TSMC was revealed to have raised wafer foundry prices by 5% to 10% in June this year, and its adjustment range touched multiple process nodes including 7nm, TSMC has never commented on its specific pricing strategy. The company has previously only stated that its pricing policy is based on strategic considerations rather than simply pursuing short-term interests, and emphasized that it will continue to create value through deepening cooperation with customers. With Samsung joining the ranks of price increases, this trend further confirms the current industrial logic of the semiconductor manufacturing industry - that is, against the dual background of accelerating technology iterations and insufficient production capacity, the pricing rules of the global chip industry chain have been completely rewritten by the AI boom, and the trend of foundry companies screening customers and balancing investment returns through price means may continue for a long time.