Semiconductor Equipment

Samsung: No plans to spin off foundry biz

09 October 2024

Samsung Electronics has no interest in spinning off its contract chip manufacturing foundry and logic chip design operations business, according to Jay Y. Lee, chairperson of Samsung Electronics.

The question was posed to Samsung’s chairman after Intel Corp. said it would spin off its foundry business, called Intel Foundry, into an independent subsidiary inside of the company, in a report from Reuters.

The remarks regarding its foundry and system LSI business were the first time that Lee publicly addressed the matter, according to market research firm TrendForce. Samsung’s foundry has struggled from unstable yields as it ramps production of its gate-all-around (GAA) 3 nm second-generation process. This has hindered Samsung from garnering major clients for its foundry business, TrendForce said.

Growing rather than spinning

Reports indicate that Samsung is looking to grow its foundry business rather than spin it off, despite some of the struggles with process technology and mounting financial losses that it suffered in 2023 and is expected to lose this year.

According to reports, Samsung wants to expand its foundry business rather than scale it back. But it is facing issues with current conditions and uncertainty, causing it to delay the construction and orders for its Pyeongtaek Phase 4 facility and the second fab in Taylor, Texas. Samsung has pushed back the expected start date for operations at the Taylor fab from late 2024 to 2026.

Despite these challenges, Samsung is continuing to invest in the semiconductor manufacturing sector and system semiconductors to the tune of about $98 billion through the end of the decade. The goal is to become the leader in the system semiconductor market.

To contact the author of this article, email PBrown@globalspec.com


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