Samsung Electronics' 2nm yield is close to 60%, aiming to challenge TSMC for orders from tech giants.

Samsung Electronics' foundry business is accelerating efforts to improve the yield of its 2-nanometer process and is using Tesla's orders as a strategic springboard to penetrate major technology clients.

On September 28, according to South Korean media ChosunBiz, citing industry insiders, Samsung Electronics' 2-nanometer process yield has further improved from the previously widely recognized 55% to nearly 60%.

With yield rates stabilizing, Samsung is focusing its engineering resources on optimizing power consumption and heat dissipation performance in an effort to build trust in technical negotiations with potential major customers.

Meanwhile, the second-generation 2-nanometer process SF2P, designed to address the performance shortcomings of existing processes, is also being accelerated, with the goal of achieving mass production this year.

Analysts believe this move has a clear strategic direction: to use the opportunity of supplying Tesla with 2-nanometer chips next year to fully open up a breakthrough in orders from large technology companies.

With a yield rate approaching 60%, power efficiency becomes a key variable.

According to reports citing industry sources, the improvement trajectory of Samsung's SF2 process yield is clear: it was about 30% in the middle of last year, rose to the 50% range in January this year, reached about 55% around August, and is now approaching 60%.

SF2 is Samsung's first 2-nanometer mass-produced process using the Gate All Around (GAA) architecture. The first mass-produced product is the self-developed mobile application processor Exynos 2600, which has been used in some models of the Galaxy S26 series launched earlier this year. It is produced at the S3 production line in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.

Samsung used a copper heat dissipation module in the chip package, which reduced thermal resistance by 30%.

However, after its launch, the Exynos 2600 showed in some overseas tests that it consumed more power than Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon products when performing the same tasks, raising questions about the energy efficiency of the manufacturing process. Some believe that this reflects the limitations of the SF2 process itself.

To address these issues, Samsung is preparing its second-generation 2nm process, SF2P, with a target of mass production this year. Reportedly, SF2P offers a 12% performance improvement, a 25% reduction in power consumption, and an 8% reduction in chip area compared to SF2.

Samsung's current engineering focus is on ensuring consistent product performance during mass production. Specifically, this means keeping the deviations in heat dissipation and power consumption after the chips are installed in customer products within acceptable limits. This capability will be a core technological advantage for Samsung when negotiating with large chip design companies (Fabless).

TSMC dominates the top spot, while Samsung and Intel vie for second place.

The global advanced process foundry market is currently characterized by a clear pattern of "one superpower and two strong players".

With key clients such as Apple, AMD, and Nvidia, TSMC recorded a 72.5% market share in the second quarter of this year, while Samsung's share was only 5.9%, further widening the gap between the two.

TSMC's 2nm wafer prices have stabilized at around US$30,000, 50% higher than 3nm (around US$20,000), and the company maintains a "no discount" policy for major customers. Industry insiders generally believe that TSMC's 2nm capacity is booked until 2028.

Intel 's 2nm 18A process is already in mass production at Fab 52 in Arizona, USA. The Panther Lake processors produced by this process have helped Intel gain a 56% market share in the AI PC market, achieving certain results in its own product line.

However, there has been no significant progress in recruiting external customers for the 18A. It is understood that Intel internally tends to pin its hopes for breakthroughs with external customers on the next-generation 14A process, which is planned to be mass-produced after 2027.

Against this backdrop, industry insiders generally expect the market landscape to be dominated by TSMC, with Samsung and Intel vying for a second-tier position. Regarding the break-even point for Samsung's foundry business, the mainstream market view is that it must be observed in conjunction with the capacity utilization rate of its Taylor wafer fab in Texas.

A semiconductor industry insider stated:

A yield rate approaching 60% and the initiation of power consumption optimization efforts are significant signs of a rebound.

However, it was also pointed out that:

The market share gap with TSMC is too large, and it will take more time to achieve a real shift in the market landscape.

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