TSMC was recently reported to have extended its global lead against Samsung in the fourth quarter of 2024, with the Taiwanese semiconductor giant holding a 67.1 percent market share in the foundry business. The Korean giant displayed some progress with its 2nm GAA node as its trial production run secured a 30 percent yield, but according to the latest rumor, the company could be back to square, at least when its cutting-edge 1.4nm process is concerned.
One tipster claims that Samsung has canceled the newer node, but no reason has been given. This could mean one of two things: either the firm’s foundry business is really in shambles, or Samsung wants to focus its resources and manpower on improving its wafer yields, which are scheduled to arrive first.
Likely realizing that its 3nm GAA was doomed to fail, Samsung has probably skipped looking at the future to focus on the present, which is improving 2nm GAA yields
Production of the Exynos 2600 is expected to start in May, with Samsung looking to boost the yields of its 2nm GAA technology to ensure that it not only launches the flagship SoC for its Galaxy S26 series but also secures more customers on this lithography. Unfortunately, that will require some sacrifices, which could be the reason why tipster @Jukanlosreve has mentioned on X that Samsung’s 1.4nm process could be canceled.
As you would expect, there are no reasons provided as to why Samsung is taking a step back in obtaining its lost market share, but it could be related to strengthening its current nodes, which are the 3nm GAA and 2nm GAA, both of which are yet to reach a threshold encouraging enough to kick off full-scale production. Even right now, TSMC is focused on improving its 2nm yields, but Samsung’s biggest rival in the foundry space has shown significantly better progress, as its trial production yields were reportedly at 60 percent.
Urgent: Samsung’s SF1.4 might be canceled.
Are they planning to shut down Samsung Foundry?
— Jukanlosreve (@Jukanlosreve) March 14, 2025
We do not expect either company to focus on sub-2nm processes right now, which could be why Samsung has been forced to cancel its 1.4nm technology. For an entity as humongous as Samsung, a failed business sector does not necessarily mean that it will shutter this particular category, with a company executive previously stating that the company has no intentions of spinning off the foundry business. We will keep our fingers crossed and hope to see some positive development in this regard, so stay tuned for more updates.
News Source: @Jukanlosreve
