Qualcomm May Consider Samsung for Future Chipsets Following its Shift to GAA Technology

TSMC’s incredibly effective 4nm technology was used entirely to create the recently introduced Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Performance was probably the reason Qualcomm sought the Taiwanese company’s superior technology. However, According to a rumor, TSMC will again receive Qualcomm’s 3nm chip orders for 2023. However, there is still a potential that Samsung can rejoin the supply chain if the Korean foundry can avoid the past problems that led to it losing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 orders in the first place.

Don Maguire, senior vice president and chief marketing officer (CMO), met with journalists at the Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii. They briefed them on Qualcomm’s potential foundry partners, according to The Elec. Maguire allegedly said that Qualcomm and Samsung had a “cooperative relationship” when discussing cutting-edge manufacturing techniques like 3nm and 2nm.”

In addition, Maguire noted Qualcomm’s present situation as a business that was too big to depend on a single chip maker and said that transitioning to a multi-foundry method would improve supply issues. Additionally, by using this business strategy, the company should be able to preserve price leverage a strategy that firms like Apple steadfastly adhere to.

Qualcomm is too large to go with a single foundry. The multi-foundry strategy is much easier in terms of supply, but it is also advantageous in terms of price competitiveness and scale. In particular, a multi-foundry strategy is more appropriate for expanding into business areas other than smartphones.”

When solely evaluating power efficiency, Samsung’s 4nm technology was inferior to TSMC’s, but the Korean manufacturer also had issues with wafer yields. The business switched to the 3nm GAA process, which according to Samsung may increase performance by 23% while reducing power consumption by up to 45 percent. It has not yet accepted orders from any smartphone partners, however.

The tech company hopes to maintain the trend with its second-generation 3nm GAA manufacturing, which could enhance performance by 30% and cut power consumption by up to 50% compared to its 5nm design. Assuming TSMC has yield issues with its own 3nm process and Qualcomm reviews Samsung’s 3nm GAA samples before making a commercial decision, the alliance may eventually take place. However, TSMC will continue completing Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 orders for Qualcomm for the time being.