[News] Samsung Reportedly to Ramp up Foundry Production as 4nm Orders from Exynos and China Surge

Despite rumors that Samsung’s foundry division would cut investment by over half in 2025, the company seems to be turning a corner. According to Chosun Biz, Samsung has lifted the shutdown of its foundry and plans to increase the utilization rate of the Pyeongtaek campus, driven by higher demand for Exynos processors and cryptocurrency-related orders from China.

The report notes that Samsung plans to ramp up production at its Pyeongtaek campus to full capacity starting in June. The rise in 4nm orders, fueled by Exynos processors and increased cryptocurrency mining machine orders from China, is driving this decision, the report adds.

In addition, the production of logic dies for Samsung’s HBM4 contributes to the rising demand as well, according to Chosun Biz.

This would be a good start when the new year unfolds, while in 2024, Samsung reportedly halted about 50% of the capacity at its P2 and P3 factories at the Pyeongtaek campus due to poor order intake, as noted by Chosun Biz.

However, the report also highlights concerns that U.S. regulations on China could pose a threat to Samsung’s production recovery afterwards. Currently, Samsung’s foundry business relies heavily on Chinese companies, such as Baidu, as it faces difficulties securing orders for the advanced 3nm processes, the report notes.

According to a previous report from the Economic Daily News, after TSMC halted shipments of AI chips manufactured with 7nm and below to China in November, 2024, Samsung’s foundry also issued a similar notice to its Chinese clients.

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(Photo credit: Samsung)