‘Samsung 3-nano’ secures heavyweight customers
IBM, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Baidu, etc.
Samsung Electronics’ foundry division has secured Nvidia, Qualcomm, IBM, and Baidu as customers for the 3-nanometer process (nm·1nm is 1 billionth of a meter). It is expected to be delivered from around 2024 at the earliest after a development process of around 1 to 2 years. This means that high-performance semiconductors used in smartphones and servers are mass-produced at Samsung Electronics’ 3nm foundry factory (semiconductor batch production).
According to the semiconductor industry on the 22nd, Samsung Electronics’ foundry division is developing semiconductors for the 3nm process with 5 to 6 American and Chinese fabless companies (specializing in semiconductor design) that design computing chips high performance (HPC). Representative super customers include IBM (central processing unit for servers), Nvidia (graphics processing unit), Qualcomm (application processor for smartphones), and Baidu (artificial intelligence chip for cloud data centers).
It is known that these customers chose Samsung Electronics as a consignment manufacturer after comprehensively considering the 3nm process technology and the need to ensure multiple supply chains. In the industry, there is hope that Samsung Electronics, which has recently been pushed by TSMC, will prepare an opportunity for a reversal through the 3nm process.
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“We were behind TSMC in the 4-5nm process (1nm = 1 billionth of a meter). But 3nm is different.”
This is what Sim Sang-pil, vice president of Samsung Electronics’ foundry business, said at a business briefing for institutional investors held on the 15th. For the past 1-2 years, Samsung Electronics has been pushed back by TSMC in the battle to secure customers for the 4-5nm foundry process. Major customers such as Qualcomm and Nvidia turned over their leading chip batch production to TSMC one after the other. However, Samsung Electronics explains that it has created a ‘moment of reversal’ in the latest 3nm. Vice President Shim emphasized that “the 3nm process is a game changer”.
○ Develop 3nm HPC chips with multiple customers
According to the semiconductor industry on the 22nd, the front of the major foundries such as Samsung Electronics and TSMC is in the 3nm process. 3nm means the width (line width) of the path that electrons travel in a semiconductor. The narrower the width, the more high performance, low power semiconductor production is possible.
Samsung Electronics’ confidence is analyzed to be influenced by a number of global customers showing interest in the 3nm foundry process (semiconductor load production). Currently, many global fabless companies (specializing in semiconductor design) such as Nvidia, Qualcomm, IBM, and Baidu are developing high-performance computing such as central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit ( GPU), artificial intelligence (AI) and network semiconductors in the 3nm process.(HPC) chips are discussed with Samsung Electronics.
○ Increasing demand for fine process foundries
‘Technology’ is cited as the reason why customers are interested in Samsung Electronics’ 3nm process. On June 30, Samsung Electronics announced that it had successfully mass-produced the world’s first 3nm process. Samsung Electronics explains that semiconductors mass-produced in the 3nm process improve power efficiency and performance by 45% and 23%, respectively, compared to 5nm process chips, which is the current flagship process. Area also decreased by 16%.
HPC chips play the role of ‘brain’ in supercomputers, servers and PCs. The smaller the size, the better the performance, and the higher the power efficiency, the better. An official from the foundry industry explained, “As AI and 5G technology has recently developed, HPC chip customers increasingly want ‘high-end’ chips.” “The need to mass produce chips in the 3nm process is growing.”
○ ‘Reflection’ in Taiwan’s geopolitical crisis
The fact that great companies entrust mass chip production to foundries using a ‘multiple supplier’ strategy for reasons such as geopolitical crisis is also a reason why Samsung Electronics’ 3nm process is becoming more popular. In the past, great companies like Nvidia trusted TSMC to produce chips, but these days, they split the supply between TSMC and Samsung Electronics.
The growing geopolitical risk in Taiwan due to the conflict between the United States and China is also evaluated as a positive factor for the foundry business of Samsung Electronics. A high-ranking official at Samsung Electronics explained, “As geopolitical issues arise, customers want a ‘second foundry company’.” A high-ranking official from a semiconductor post-processing company (OSAT) said, “We also withdrew our investment plan in Taiwan due to geopolitical risks.”
TSMC, a competitor to Samsung Electronics, is also moving busily to secure customers for the 3nm process. TSMC founder Maurice Chang said on the 21st, “We will also make a 3nm process at a factory in Arizona, USA.” An industry insider pointed out, “Customers won’t just entrust Samsung Electronics with batch production,” and “It’s important to win more models and sizes than TSMC.”
Correspondent Hwang Jeong-soo hjs@hankyung.com
