Qualcomm, Reunion with Samsung After 3 Years? ... Will They Re-collaborate on Foundry?

Amon CEO "Considering Dual Sourcing with TSMC
Seriously Reviewing Re-collaboration with Samsung"
Relationship Severed After Snapdragon 8
Highly Values Next-Gen 2nm Technology
Final Decision at US Forum on 12-13
HBM Quality Tests Continue
Jensen Huang "Samsung Certification Process Underway"

U.S. smartphone semiconductor company Qualcomm is confirmed to be seriously considering renewed foundry cooperation with Samsung Electronics. The renewed cooperation with Qualcomm is a significant issue for Samsung Electronics, which is evaluated to be in crisis after being outpaced by competitors in markets such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM), drawing increased attention from the industry.

Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

On the 4th, at a media briefing held at the W Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan, Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), responded to a foreign reporter’s question, "Are there any concerns about smartphone chip production being unified under Taiwan’s TSMC?" by saying, "We are considering dual production with both TSMC and Samsung Electronics."

CEO Amon said, "Right now, we need to focus first and foremost on the foundry production status at TSMC, but production probably requires a lot of effort, and it is difficult for one company to handle two things," adding, "(Regarding foundry cooperation) we welcome both TSMC and Samsung Electronics and will continue to do so."

The decision on whether the deal will be finalized is expected to be made as early as next week in the U.S. Samsung Electronics’ foundry division will travel to Silicon Valley, U.S., to hold the ‘Samsung Foundry Forum·SAFE Forum 2024’ on the 12th and 13th (local time). At that time, CEO Amon and Samsung Electronics foundry officials are likely to meet to discuss foundry production plans and possibly sign the final agreement.

If Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm join hands, it will be the first time in three years. Previously, Qualcomm entrusted Samsung Electronics’ foundry with the production of the first generation of the smartphone chip ‘Snapdragon 8’ in 2021, but due to issues such as overheating, the deal was effectively terminated. Since then, Qualcomm has entrusted all production volumes of the next generation of Snapdragon 8 to TSMC.

However, as Qualcomm recently found the need to diversify its product production lines, the possibility of renewed foundry cooperation with Samsung Electronics has been continuously raised in the U.S. Qualcomm has ambitiously upgraded its Snapdragon, which has been well-received in the smartphone chip market, to be installed in PCs and laptops, targeting the artificial intelligence (AI) PC market. Qualcomm’s newly developed AI PC dedicated chip, ‘Snapdragon X Elite,’ is being used in Microsoft’s (MS) Copilot+ PC, among others, as it moves to dominate the market. As Snapdragon X Elite receives positive reviews and demand increases, Qualcomm is reportedly beginning to consider expanding foundry production beyond TSMC to other companies. Samsung Electronics is mentioned as a strong candidate. Qualcomm is known to internally highly value Samsung Electronics’ next-generation 2nm (1nm = one billionth of a meter) advanced fine process foundry technology.

In addition to discussions on cooperation with Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics is confirmed to be continuing the quality verification (Qualtest) of the 12-stack 36GB HBM3E it intends to supply to Nvidia. Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO, said at a media Q&A held at the Grand Hyatt Taipei in Taiwan the day before, "(Contrary to foreign media reports) the Qualtest has not failed, and the certification process is currently ongoing." CEO Huang further emphasized, "We receive HBM supplies from SK Hynix, Micron, and Samsung Electronics, all of whom are excellent memory supply partners," adding, "Samsung Electronics has never failed any certification tests, but Samsung’s HBM products require more engineering work."