Samsung lifts 4nm foundry quotes up to 15% as AI demand overflows from TSMC
Samsung raised new foundry quotes in July by 10-15% on its 4nm SF4 and 5nm SF5 nodes and about 10% on 8nm, with Chinese and US customers absorbing the steepest increases while Taiwanese customers see 5-10%, per Reuters. The pricing power is borrowed, not earned — TSMC is booked out on AI orders and has flagged 5-10% increases across sub-5nm nodes from January, letting Samsung raise under that umbrella and still quote lower at 7% of foundry revenue against TSMC's 70%-plus. BNK Investment analyst Lee Min-hee says a foundry unit loss-making since 2022 could turn profitable as early as next year, backed by Tesla's $16.5B AI chip contract, an Apple deal, Broadcom, and Nvidia's inference processor.
Source: tomshardware.com ↗
TSMC's leading-edge capacity is booked out by AI orders, and the market leader notified customers of 5% to 10% increases across all sub-5nm nodes starting in January
Why this matters
- → Samsung seizes pricing power as TSMC's AI capacity fully booked
- → Chinese chipmakers accept steep hikes due to US export restrictions
- → Foundry division eyes profitability after years of losses