Samsung Electronics' (005930.KS) foundry division has surpassed an 80% yield rate on its 4-nanometer process, entering the "mature process" stage that marks the technical pinnacle of chip manufacturing. With technical completion now on par with Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest foundry, orders from global Big Tech firms are flooding into Samsung's 4nm line. Industry observers expect the division's return to profit to accelerate as a result.
According to industry sources on Monday, Samsung Foundry's 4nm process yield has recently exceeded 80%. Since beginning mass production in 2021, accumulated manufacturing expertise has pushed the mature process yield to a global top-tier level.
As the 4nm process joins the ranks of mature processes, global artificial intelligence (AI) chip companies are turning to Samsung Electronics' foundry. Groq, which Nvidia acquired late last year, has entrusted production of its language processing unit (LPU) entirely to Samsung Foundry's 4nm process. Groq has demonstrated strong confidence in Samsung, entrusting the company with everything from its first-generation LPU (LP1) three years ago to the LP3 unveiled this year. In addition, U.S. Big Tech firm IBM, automotive chip specialist Ambarella, Chinese conglomerate Baidu and Chinese mining equipment maker Faraday are also using Samsung Electronics' 4nm process. Domestic AI chip fabless company Rebellions is likewise accelerating product development using Samsung's 4nm process.
Synergy between the foundry division and the memory division is also expanding. The foundry division is handling production of the "base die" for HBM4, the sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory that Samsung Electronics was the first in the world to mass-produce. The foundry division's performance is strengthening the competitiveness of Samsung Electronics' memory division.
As a result, expectations are growing that Samsung Electronics' non-memory division (foundry and System LSI) could see an earnings turnaround as early as the second half. "The price of 12-inch wafers for HBM4 base dies has surged more than 50% from previous levels to over $20,000 (approximately 30 million won) per wafer," an industry official said. "HBM4-related revenue could exceed 30 trillion won."
