Samsung Foundry’s yield issues led Qualcomm to move from Samsung to TSMC
As a result, Qualcomm picked up all of its marbles from Samsung’s playground and moved them to TSMC. The latter built the slightly reconfigured Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and has manufactured all of Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon application processors since then. There is no denying that the Taiwan-based chip foundry has a star-studded list of clients that are among the top names in tech including Apple, AMD, Nvidia, MediaTek, Qualcomm, and more.
Thanks to Samsung Foundry’s poor yields, Qualcomm switched to TSMC to make the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. | Image credit-PhoneArena
TSMC has started mass production of 4nm chips from its Arizona fab
Both Samsung and TSMC have built U.S. fabs and TSMC has started producing 4nm chips in Arizona and will build 2nm components in 2028. Samsung’s timeline has it ahead of TSMC in the States. In Taylor, Texas, Samsung Foundry will mass produce 2nm chips in 2026. Samsung needs a strong order flow to keep the Taylor, Texas line humming, churning out advanced chips. That is why Samsung Foundry will pay California-based salesmen as much as $300,000.
A foundry sales director can earn as much as $319,800 and a senior manager inside a foundry’s customer service unit, can draw a salary within the $180,950 to $289,050 range. The salaries Samsung is willing to pay in the U.S. top what it is paying for the same jobs in South Korea.
The new hires will have the task of increasing Samsung Foundry’s market share in the United States. Some of TSMC’s customers in Taiwan will also take delivery of chips built in the U.S. including Apple, AMD, Nvidia, and Qualcomm. TSMC is already shipping 4nm chips from its Arizona fab to Apple and Nvidia. Semiconductors built in Arizona will not face any tariffs which is part of the appeal of purchasing domestically manufactured chips.
Depending on which report you read, the third largest foundry globally is China’s SMIC. The latter manufactures the chips designed by Huawei and is the largest foundry in the country.
Source: Phone Arena
