Samsung has announced a five-year plan to expand its production capacity for advanced chips by 2027. The timeline could help the company regain ground from semiconductor giant TSMC.
in his Press release TuesdayFollowing an announcement at the annual Samsung Foundry Forum event, Samsung has committed to expanding its advanced node production capacity “by more than three times” by the year 2027. The company also plans to have a two nanometer process in 2025 and a 1.4 nm process by 2027.
The company says it is responding to “significant market growth in high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), 5/6G connectivity and automotive applications,” making “innovation in semiconductor process technology critical to the business success of foundry customers. “
“The goal for technology development up to 1.4nm and foundry platforms specialized for each application, along with stable delivery through consistent investments, are all part of Samsung’s strategies to win customer trust and support their success ,” Si-young Choi, president and head of Foundry Business at Samsung Electronics, said in a statement. “Achieving each customer’s innovations with our partners has been at the heart of our foundry service.”
“Achieving each customer’s innovations with our partners has been at the heart of our foundry service”
Samsung has not provided concrete plans for specific chips in this announcement that it plans to build on this process. That’s an important reminder that we may not see 1.4nm products on the market by the year 2027. That timeline will depend on other variables, including how quickly Samsung’s customers actually adopt the new transistors. All Samsung is saying here is that it will be ready to take customers to a 1.4nm node at that point.
Samsung’s chip arm is currently fighting an uphill battle in a market heavily dominated by TSMC. The company previously counted Nvidia among its customers – the recent RTX 30 series was based on the 8nm process – but Nvidia ditched them in favor of TSMC’s 4nm process for its high-end RTX 40 series after Samsung reportedly experienced yield problems. Apple was also a Samsung customer prior to the iPhone 6S, as 9to5Mac rightly points outbut Apple moved its business to TSMC for the iPhone 7.
The M2 chips powering recent MacBook models use TSMC’s “enhanced” 5nm technology, while current rumors suggest Apple’s first 3nm MacBooks won’t hit shelves until 2023. Samsung’s new timeline means it could potentially catch up by 2027, but how that will play out in practice remains to be seen.
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