Samsung Electronics Co said the global technology industry is in search of alternative sources for advanced semiconductors given rising political risks.
Speaking at an investor briefing, Sim Sang-pil, the head of corporate planning for the South Korean company’s foundry business, laid out ambitious goals for the operation, which competes directly with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電).
Samsung expects to increase its foundry capacity 3.3 times by 2027 compared with this year.
Photo: AFP
“When I meet customers these days, they think the current geopolitical risk is serious; they need their second source,” Sim said. “Samsung foundry has many opportunities with customers who want to have that second source.”
TSMC manufactures the world’s most advanced semiconductors, crafting silicon to meet the designs of clients such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp. The world’s reliance on that single company, based in Taiwan has grown into an area of concern for political leaders in the US and Europe.
As geopolitical tensions have risen between the US and China, businesses have been preparing contingency plans in case foreign companies are no longer able to operate in China or there is a military confrontation around Taiwan.
Samsung, the world’s biggest maker of memory chips, has been investing heavily in competing for logic processor production orders from large-scale customers such as Qualcomm Inc.
Sim said that Samsung’s foundry was a little behind TSMC in 4 nanometer and 5 nanometer technology, but it sees an opportunity to catch up in more advanced nodes.
Samsung’s development of a new iteration of chip design called Gate All Around, or GAA, is one area where the company thinks it can gain an edge over TSMC and US rival Intel Corp.
Samsung is also working closely with the US government, which this year passed legislation to subsidize development of domestic chip manufacturing. The company is building a new fab in Taylor, Texas, in large part to supply the US market.
TSMC is building a US$12 billion complex in Arizona, while Intel is adding capacity in the US and Europe, as part of an effort to balance the industry’s heavy reliance on Asian manufacturing.
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