Tech News: TSMC, Samsung, Intel Compete for 2nm Chip Production in 2025

The semiconductor industry is currently witnessing intense competition, especially with advanced foundries preparing to mass-produce chips using the 2nm process node?starting in 2025. This comes at a time when the industry is also celebrating the third year of mass production for the 3nm node. The first smartphones equipped with 3nm chips are 苹果 's iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, both powered by the A17 Pro application processor (AP) built on 台积公司 's first-generation 3nm node (N3B).

For the iPhone 16 series, the A18?and A18 Pro?APs will be manufactured using TSMC's second-generation 3nm node (N3E). Although there were rumors earlier that TSMC might use its 2nm node to manufacture the A19 series AP, the chips for the iPhone 17 series next year will be produced using TSMC's third-generation 3nm process (N3P). It is likely that Apple will hold off on using the 2nm node for its A20 and A20 Pro APs until the iPhone 18 series in 2026, aiming to reduce costs. This is because wafer prices for new process nodes tend to be higher in the first year of production.

The world's largest wafer foundry, 台积公司 , is fully booked for its 2nm production capacity, with its largest customer, Apple, already securing all of TSMC's 2nm capacity through 2026. Other major companies, such as HPC manufacturers, AI companies, chipmakers, and mobile chip manufacturers, are also joining in, ensuring TSMC is ahead of Intel and Samsung in securing 2nm orders. Besides Apple, notable companies like AMD , 英伟达 , 联发科技 , and Qualcomm are also vying for TSMC's 2nm capacity.

In recent years, Samsung Semiconductor has faced challenges with yield rates at its foundries for 4nm, 3nm, and 2nm chips. When manufacturing Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen1, Samsung's 4nm yield was so poor that Qualcomm eventually shifted production to TSMC for the Snapdragon 8+ Gen1. Samsung later managed to improve the 4nm yield to 70%. However, Samsung is still struggling with yield issues for its 3nm process, which has reportedly led to delays in the production of its Exynos 2500 AP. This could force Samsung to pay extra costs and use more expensive Snapdragon 8 Elite SoCs for all Galaxy S25 series phones, rather than its internal Exynos chips. Low yields increase production costs, as additional silicon wafers are required to manufacture enough chips to meet the order demands.

Another player in the 2nm race is the Japanese startup Rapidus Corporation . Funded by the Japanese government, which is collaborating with the U.S. to use IBM's technology for 2nm chip production, Rapidus plans to focus on smaller orders and custom chips. The company does not aim to become profitable through mass production initially. IBM , which had already produced the first 2nm chip using a 2nm node in May 2021, employed a GAA transistor design. This design utilizes vertically arranged horizontal nanosheets surrounding the channel, which improves current control and reduces leakage, enabling the production of more powerful and energy-efficient chips.

Meanwhile, 英特尔 ’s contract manufacturing business plays a crucial role in the company’s strategy to regain leadership in chip manufacturing. This is part of a plan by former CEO Pat Gelsinger, who in 2021 stated that Intel would reclaim manufacturing leadership from TSMC and Samsung by 2025 with the Intel 18A (1.8nm) process node. However, Gelsinger resigned on December 1, 2024, and although the company still plans to produce 1.8nm chips next year, Intel is currently in a state of flux, having not yet appointed a new CEO. As of now, Amazon AWS is the only major company to have signed up for Intel's A18 process node.

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