Qualcomm wants Samsung to manufacture its next generation of mobile chips. The American chip manufacturer is considering using Samsung’s latest 2nm process, CEO Cristiano Amon told the Korea Economic Daily on Wednesday.
According to Amon, Qualcomm is in talks with several chip manufacturers, one of which is Samsung. The design work has already been completed for commercialization in the short term, according to the CEO. Samsung and Qualcomm themselves do not comment on specific customers or collaborations outside regular business hours.
The potential move would mark a return to Samsung’s most advanced production nodes. Samsung signed a $16.5 billion deal with Tesla for AI chips in July. It therefore appears that Samsung is finally back on track with its foundry business, after years in which TSMC further expanded its dominant position. Co-CEO Jun Young-hyun called these recent supply deals a stepping stone for “a big leap forward” in the loss-making foundry division.
Supply chain diversification
The choice of Samsung was partly made possible by the capacity limit at competitor TSMC. That company has fully booked its 2nm production capacity, mainly due to orders from Apple and Nvidia. These parties are often at the forefront (especially Apple) when it comes to new processes. This limits the available slots for other customers such as Qualcomm. A dual foundry strategy reduces the risk of delays. It also helps to design chips that can be manufactured elsewhere than by a single player.
In addition, Samsung’s factory in Taylor, Texas, offers a unique advantage: an American supply chain for 2nm chips that TSMC cannot offer. For Qualcomm, which recently appointed Intel veteran Sailesh Kottapalli, this is strategically relevant.
Samsung’s foundry challenges
The previous collaboration between the two companies did not always run smoothly. Samsung previously produced the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which suffered from overheating problems and low yields. Those problems now appear to have been resolved. Samsung’s foundry division has suffered significant losses in recent years due to technical delays compared to TSMC.
Google previously switched to TSMC for its Tensor chips because of better heat management and performance. TSMC remains the market leader with higher yields and more advanced Gate-all-Around transistors (GAAT).
Still, Samsung’s 2nm process could offer new opportunities. The South Korean manufacturer recently unveiled the Exynos 2600 as the world’s first 2nm mobile chip for the Galaxy S26 series. If Qualcomm chooses Samsung, it would enable uniform Snapdragon chips in global Galaxy flagships, which could replace Exynos variants.