Samsung Receives Its First Exclusive 2nm AI Chip Order, Secures HBM and Packaging Deal
Samsung’s 2nm-class process node, known as SF2, is on track for production next year. However, the company has decided to initially limit this most advanced process to its home country, South Korea.
The First 2nm Deal was Announced Without Naming the Customer
Just as Samsung prepares to begin trial production of its 3nm-class chips, the foundry has reportedly secured its first order for 2nm AI accelerator chips. The announcement came in Samsung’s financial report for the fourth quarter of 2023, where the company chose to keep the client’s name confidential for now.
As the semiconductor market continues to recover from an 8.2% drop in 2023, with the SIA predicting a rebound of at least 13.1% this year, bringing it back to pre-2023 levels, Samsung will be looking to leverage new customers and orders to support growth in high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Samsung Faces Pressure to Secure Clientele After Missing Out on Apple’s 2nm TSMC Deal
Just earlier this month, multiple sources claimed that Apple secured all of TSMC’s initial batch of 2nm chips, naturally putting pressure on competitors to find customers. While Samsung’s 3nm production has faced its own challenges, this apparently didn’t hinder this recent deal.
It was previously reported that one of Samsung’s entire batches of 3GAP wafers was found to be defective, resulting in a 0% yield. However, the source retracted this statement soon after, and there is currently no indication of any delays in Samsung’s 2nm roadmap.
READ MORE: Samsung’s Foundry Hit with 0% Yield Rate for 3nm GAA Process, Exynos 2500 Faces Production Delays ➜
SF2 is said to boast a 25% improvement over the second-generation 3nm process, with a 12% increase in performance at 5% less area, for the same frequency and complexity.
This is all we know for now, but rest assured that we will keep you updated as new information becomes available.
via: Samsung
