三星代工4nm产能据称满载并以5nm承接AI与服务器芯片需求

Samsung Foundry’s 4nm Capacity Fully Booked as 5nm Orders Rise, Expanding into AI and Servers

Samsung Electronics' foundry business is stepping up its sales push for its 5nm process. The move is read as offering 5nm as an alternative now that utilization of the in-demand 4nm node has hit its ceiling.

According to semiconductor industry sources on the 5th, Samsung Foundry's 4nm process is expected to remain at full capacity through next year.

"As Samsung Electronics' HBM4 order volumes have surged, 4nm line utilization has shot up," one industry source said. "The foundry's largest customer has become the memory division."

On top of that, volumes for U.S.-based Nvidia's inference LPU "Groq3" have reportedly exceeded expectations, further contributing to the 4nm full-capacity situation.

In response, Samsung Foundry is presenting 5nm as an alternative to customers seeking 4nm. The strategy is to pitch the 5nm process — where yield and performance are already proven — as a value-oriented substitute for fabless customers who find it difficult to move up to the 2nm and 3nm nodes given the higher cost burden versus 4nm.

"The 2–3nm leading-edge nodes carry a heavy burden for customers in terms of yield and cost, and the 4nm line is already full," the source said. "Samsung Electronics is actively proposing its yield-stabilized 5nm process as an alternative, and fabless companies are viewing it favorably."

The 5nm process is classified as a dedicated automotive line. Hyundai Motor's ADAS chip targeting mass production in 2030, Bos Semiconductor's SoC, and Telechips' automotive AP "Dolphin7" are all slated for volume production on SF5A, the automotive-specific process.

More recently, its scope of application has been broadening into server and high-performance AI/NPU chips.

"The 5nm process is also well suited to implementing high-performance server chips, so licensing agreements with overseas fabless firms have been coming in one after another," another industry source explained. "Over the past three to four months, customer demand for 5nm has clearly increased versus the past."

Overloading on Taiwan's TSMC leading-edge lines and global geopolitical factors are also working in favor of Samsung Foundry's 5nm order intake. As supply-demand on TSMC's 3nm, 4nm and 5nm lines tightens, Chinese and Indian fabless firms are turning to Samsung's 5nm line both to meet their fine-node requirements and to circumvent sanctions.

"For Chinese and Indian fabless companies that need to secure leading-edge-class performance amid U.S. sanctions on China, Samsung Foundry is a realistic alternative," a Samsung Foundry supply-chain partner said. "Samsung is absorbing even the smaller-volume customers pushed out of TSMC, so it is reaping spillover benefits on the 5nm process."

Meanwhile, alongside the pragmatic 5nm-centered sales activity, global customers are also continuing to sound out volumes on the 2nm process.

"I understand inquiries about 2nm keep coming in to Samsung Foundry," an industry source said. "What matters now is nailing the yield."