• According to a report from Digitimes, TSMC is ramping up capacity expansion at its US semiconductor plant, with plans to increase foundry prices by 30%.
• Currently, TSMC’s US plant produces only 20,000 to 30,000 wafers per month, so it is speeding up its capacity expansion.
• On top of that, as it is getting more orders from multiple customers, it has decided to increase the price of its chips.
Samsung's Potential Gain
• TSMC’s US factory has several major clients, including American companies like Apple, AMD, and NVIDIA, with Apple being the largest.
• Now that TSMC is planning to increase prices, it’s a great opportunity for Samsung to attract these fabless companies — if it offers a competitive deal.
• Some reports say Apple and AMD are already reviewing Samsung’s 2nm process, which recently exceeded 40% yield.
Samsung's Expansion
• Samsung has been building its semiconductor manufacturing plants in Taylor, Texas.
Delayed Production Plans
• However, it has delayed its plan for the production of chips to 2026 due to weak orders from its clients.
• It aims to produce advanced chips for applications such as mobile, 5G, high-performance computing (HPC), and artificial intelligence (AI).
Potential Risk and Reward
• Now, if it takes risks and begins mass production this year at its Taylor plant, it may attract many fabless companies.
Market Opportunities
• Due to the uncertainty regarding the implementation of US tariffs on semiconductor chips, industry analysts expect that customer demand in the first half of 2025 will be higher.
• This could be an additional opportunity for Samsung to recover its struggling semiconductor business.
Market Share and Future Prospects
• Despite being the second-largest foundry in the world, Samsung’s foundry market share has fallen further behind TSMC’s.
• If Samsung takes advantage of these unique opportunities — rising customer demand and TSMC’s price increases — it may get back on track in the coming years.
