Jun 19, 2026 07:00:00

Amid a global surge in semiconductor demand fueled by the AI boom, TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor foundry, is reaching its production capacity limits. As a result, major companies such as Google, NVIDIA, and Tesla are reportedly considering South Korea’s Samsung as an alternative partner.

Samsung’s foundry is booming as TSMC struggles with demand – bags Nvidia, Tesla, and Qualcomm as new clients | TechSpot
https://www.techspot.com/news/112800-samsung-foundry-booming-tsmc-struggles-demand-bags-nvidia.html

AMD, BYD, Google, and Nvidia could get some of their chips made by Samsung – SamMobile
https://www.sammobile.com/news/amd-google-byd-nvidia-chips-made-samsung-future/

Samsung Electronics Gains Ground as Major Tech Firms Seek TSMC Alternatives – Blockonomi
https://blockonomi.com/samsung-electronics-gains-ground-as-major-tech-firms-seek-tsmc-alternatives/

Samsung Sees More Chipmaking Requests as TSMC Capacity Tightens – SammyGuru
https://sammyguru.com/samsung-sees-more-chipmaking-requests-as-tsmc-capacity-tightens/

TSMC is widely recognized as a leader in advanced semiconductor manufacturing because it is considered superior to competitors such as Samsung in semiconductor process technology. Furthermore, TSMC is said to still have an advantage in yield at advanced process nodes such as 2nm and 3nm .

However, in recent years, the AI boom has caused a massive surge in demand for semiconductors, pushing TSMC’s manufacturing capacity to near its limit. In fact, even Apple, a long-time major customer of TSMC, is reportedly struggling to secure chip production lines as it faces competition from NVIDIA.

Apple may be struggling to secure chip production lines as it competes with NVIDIA for TSMC’s production capacity – GIGAZINE

by Sumudu Mohottige / Li Jilin

TSMC’s manufacturing pipeline is overwhelmingly focused on supplying existing customers such as Apple, NVIDIA, AMD, Broadcom, Marvell, and MediaTek, limiting its capacity for new production orders. While TSMC has announced plans to expand its production capacity, constructing semiconductor manufacturing facilities requires significant capital investment and a construction period of several years.

Therefore, major companies such as Google, NVIDIA, Tesla, BYD, and AMD are reportedly looking at Samsung’s semiconductor foundry division as an alternative to TSMC. Samsung is one of the few companies that can manufacture semiconductors using advanced process nodes of 5nm or less, giving it the opportunity to capture the production that TSMC cannot handle.

According to reports, Google is collaborating with MediaTek to design Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for AI workloads and is considering outsourcing the manufacturing of key components for these chips to Samsung. Google is also reportedly in discussions with Samsung regarding the manufacturing of its next-generation AI accelerator, ‘Axion.’

Semiconductor company AMD is also collaborating with Samsung Foundry, and it is rumored that they have secured a foundry contract to manufacture CPUs for future EPYC servers using the second-generation 2nm process node. In addition, it has been reported that BYD, a major Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, is in discussions with Samsung regarding the manufacture of chips for future autonomous vehicles.

NVIDIA, a major semiconductor manufacturer, is manufacturing the latest chips from AI accelerator developer Groq, with whom it has a non-exclusive licensing agreement, at Samsung’s foundry, and is also considering outsourcing the manufacturing of its next-generation chips to Samsung.

Tesla has partnerships with both TSMC and Samsung, but the next-generation A16 chips to be used in Tesla vehicles and robotic platforms are scheduled to be manufactured exclusively at Samsung’s factory in Texas, USA. It has also been reported that Neuralink , a brain-machine interface (BCI) company founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has offered Samsung a lucrative contract for the manufacture of next-generation brain implant chips.

Tesla announces chip contract with Samsung worth over 2 trillion yen until the end of 2033, to manufacture Tesla’s next-generation AI6 chip in Texas – GIGAZINE

Samsung’s foundry business is known to be incurring annual losses of several hundred billion yen, negatively impacting its performance. However, the current situation, where demand exceeds TSMC’s production capacity, could be a tailwind for Samsung.

Samsung is losing hundreds of billions of yen annually on its foundry business, but has no interest in divesting it – GIGAZINE

Technology media outlet SamMobile reported that ‘the continuing AI boom and supply constraints are leading more companies to outsource future chip production to Samsung foundries. As a result, Samsung’s chip contract manufacturing business could emerge from a long slump and become profitable.’