Samsung Electronics is accelerating its advanced semiconductor manufacturing with the official announcement of its next-generation 2nm technology roadmap. The company aims to solidify partnerships with global tech giants, including Apple, by demonstrating production stability within the year.
According to industry sources, Samsung will host the 'SAFE Forum 2026' on May 28 at its U.S. semiconductor research facility in San Jose. The event will showcase its second-generation 2nm process technology (SF2P) along with current production yields and process achievements. Plans for a third-generation process (SF2P+) expected to begin production next year will also be presented.
The SAFE (Samsung Advanced Foundry Ecosystem) Forum is an annual technical event organized by Samsung's foundry division since 2019, aimed at sharing the latest semiconductor technologies and collaboration strategies with partners and industry experts.
Last year, Samsung announced a two-year delay in the introduction of its 1.4nm process, pushing the timeline to 2029. This decision was made to stabilize yields for the 2nm process, prioritizing profitability and technological reliability over aggressive competition in ultra-fine processes.
Building on this foundation, Samsung plans to begin production of its mobile application processor 'Exynos 2700' based on the SF2P process in the second half of this year, aiming to take the lead in the next-generation foundry market. The company intends to attract global tech giants, weary of supply bottlenecks from TSMC, to its Taylor Fab in the U.S., which is set to commence full operations next year.
Recently, key executives from Apple visited Samsung's Taylor Fab to explore potential chipset partnerships. The collaboration could involve Apple's self-designed system-on-chip (SoC) products, including the 'A series' for iPhones and the 'M series' for iPads and MacBooks. These chipsets are critical components that serve as the brains of the devices.
Samsung has supplied Apple with chipsets since the early models of the iPhone in 2007, but collaboration ceased in 2015 when Apple entered an exclusive contract with TSMC. If Samsung secures new orders this year, it would mark a return to Apple's advanced mobile processor supply chain after nearly 11 years.
The Taylor Fab serves as Samsung's advanced process base, offering significant geographic and strategic advantages for big tech companies looking to produce chips directly in the U.S. Having already established its technological credibility through contracts for Tesla's autonomous driving chips and AMD's next-generation CPUs, industry observers believe Samsung will successfully forge a partnership with Apple by proving the stability of its processes.
An industry insider noted, "The foundry market, which has been heavily reliant on TSMC, has reached a breaking point in terms of customer fatigue and supply instability. If Samsung can demonstrate the reliability of its 2nm process, the pace of restructuring in the foundry market centered around Taylor Fab will accelerate much faster than expected."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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