Samsung Electronics has reportedly increased the prices of new orders for some advanced foundry processes by up to 15% in response to rising demand.
According to a report by Yonhap News Agency citing Reuters, Samsung raised the prices for 4nm process semiconductors last month. The increase is said to be 10-15% for clients in China and the U.S., while Taiwanese clients face a rise of 5-10%.
Prices for 5nm process wafers have also gone up by 10-15%, and wafers for the previous 8nm process have seen an approximate 10% increase.
Analysts suggest that the significant price hikes are due to increased reliance on overseas foundries by Chinese companies, following U.S. export restrictions on advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Samsung is reportedly unable to fulfill all incoming orders as it must allocate production capacity for U.S. clients and its own semiconductor manufacturing. Google is also said to be in negotiations with Samsung for chip production using the 4nm process.
Meanwhile, the 4nm production line in Pyeongtaek has been operating at maximum capacity since late last year. This line produces logic semiconductors for external clients like Qualcomm, as well as base dies for Samsung's high-bandwidth memory (HBM).
Earlier, Samsung announced during its second-quarter earnings report that it plans to begin mass production of the second generation of its 2nm process in the second half of the year, aiming to improve foundry profitability through enhanced utilization and yield, along with the price increases.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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