Samsung preps for 3-4 year long-term competition with TSMC on its next-gen 2nm process node

Samsung Electronics is reportedly focusing on substance over speed when it comes to its bleeding-edge 2nm process node, with the South Korean company "preparing for a 3-4 year long-term competition with TSMC".

In a new report from DigiTimes picked up by insider @Jukanrosleve on X, we're hearing that the launch of Samsung's new 2nm process node is expected to launch in the second half of this year, behind TSMC in yield, but "steadily identifying areas for improvement".

US chip giants Apple, AMD, and NVIDIA are running to TSMC to have their next-gen 2nm chips made at the Taiwanese semiconductor fabs, but Samsung plans to leverage its improved yields and cost-effectiveness by 2026 to prepare for the long game.

Samsung expects demand for its new 2nm process node to persist for at least three years, and in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of its 3nm node, the company is determined to strengthen its fundamentals -- working on heat dissipation, stabilizing chip performance, and more.

DigiTimes reports from its industry sources that Samsung Foundry has been improving heat dissipation and performance of its new 2nm chips "at a pace exceeding expectations". Its new 2nm yields are lagging behind TSMC by around 20-30%, with the results said to be "better than the management's conservative forecasts".

A Samsung Foundry business unit representative said: "Whereas 3nm and 4nm involved 'bold gambles' to claim world‑first titles, the approach for 2nm is to proceed more cautiously-improving process maturity before release, even if that means coming in later than TSMC. That's because 2nm is likely to remain a mainstream process in mobile, server, and HPC for over three to four years".

An insider familiar with Samsung Foundry explained: "Since Vice Chairman Joong‑Yong Yoon took office, the foundry division's excessive 'race for speed' strategy has effectively been scrapped, and the goal is to rebuild market trust by solidifying the foundation. The previous approach of landing massive orders to abruptly shift market dynamics has completely changed." Starting with mobile APs and then building track records in server and HPC "big chips," Samsung aims to turn the tide in the 1nm era that follows 2nm".