AMD has reportedly decided to redirect its 4 nm chip orders away from Samsung and toward TSMC´s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Arizona, United States. This is a strategic reversal from a previous move in May 2023 when AMD announced plans to shift certain 4 nm CPU production from TSMC to Samsung. The partnership with Samsung had covered the company´s SF4X process technology for EPYC server processors, Ryzen APUs, and Radeon graphics cards, forming a crucial aspect of AMD´s multi-vendor supply approach. Industry sources now point to AMD´s concerns regarding Samsung´s process stability and consistency as the primary reasons for the realignment, reportedly resulting in the cancellation of plans for mass-producing graphics chips using Samsung´s 4 nm technology.
This strategic supply shift further cements TSMC´s leading position within the advanced chip fabrication sector at a time when much of the semiconductor industry, including Artificial Intelligence computing needs, is heavily reliant on a handful of specialized foundries. While this enhances consistency and supply assurances for AMD, there are underlying geopolitical risks associated with concentrating production in a single vendor, especially in the current global and technology-political climate. AMD is also expanding its commitment to TSMC, confirming that its next-generation ´Venice´ processors, leveraging TSMC´s 2 nm process technology, have successfully completed testing in the Arizona facility and remain on track for a planned 2026 release.
Despite the setback, Samsung Electronics is making notable progress. Recent reports indicate its 2 nm (SF2) process is achieving initial production yields above 30%, exceeding industry expectations for a new node introduction. Samsung aims to stabilize yields in the latter half of 2025 and commence mass production of the Exynos 2600 mobile chip, marking a significant milestone for its foundry ambitions. Additionally, Samsung appears close to finalizing a manufacturing agreement with Qualcomm to produce the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 processor on its advanced 2 nm platform, demonstrating the company´s ongoing efforts to remain a key player in the complex, competitive global foundry landscape.
