Would Samsung finally be able to secure major orders from tech giants, even one of the world’s top AI companies? According to a report by The Information, the most successful and lucrative partnership in AI business, which is formed by NVIDIA and its foundry partner TSMC, is showing signs of strain, while Samsung may turn out to benefit from the development.

However, it is worth noting that the orders Samsung might get from NVIDIA may not be the most advanced AI chips. According to the reports by The Information and SamMobile, the U.S. AI chip giant is mulling to team up with Samsung to produce its new GPUs, which are considered less complex to manufacture than its AI accelerators.

The reports also suggest that NVIDIA is trying to secure discounted pricing from Samsung, as it aims for a 20-30% reduction compared to what it pays TSMC.

According to the analysis by SamMobile, NVIDIA’s move is an attempt to reduce its dependence on TSMC for upcoming chips, which is a positive development for Samsung.

Though the struggling semiconductor giant is said to have several clients for 5nm, 7nm and 8nm nodes, the continuous yield issues for 3nm and 4nm makes it unable to attract major customers, according to SamMobile, while the company now hopes to improve its yields and regain clients like Qualcomm and NVIDIA.

According to The Information, Samsung’s opportunities arise while NVIDIA’s Blackwell chips, built with TSMC’s 4nm, reportedly faced delays due to issues discovered in the testing process. The chips are said to have failed in high-voltage environments typical of data centers, which put strain on the decades-long partnership between the two firms.

For now, the issues have been resolved, and Team Green’s Blackwell chips are expected to ramp up starting from Q4 2024. According to a report by Wccftech, citing the projection by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Blackwell’s estimated shipments are expected to be around 150,000 to 200,000 units this quarter, and surging to 500,000 to 550,000 units in Q1 2025.

According to Kuo, Microsoft is believed to be the major customer, with its orders for GB200 in Q4 skyrocketing, rising 3 to 4 times from the previous range of 300 to 500 racks (primarily NVL36) to about 1,400 to 1,500 racks (approximately 70% NVL72).

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• [News] NVIDIA’s Blackwell Overcomes Delays, as GB200 Reportedly Sets for December Mass Production

(Photo credit: NVIDIA)

Rumors have been circulating for a while that China’s tech giants are capable of manufacturing chips in advanced nodes even without the need for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines by ASML, and that local foundry SMIC has reportedly produced 5nm chips for Huawei. Now there seems to be a new member joining the ranks of the elite. According to the reports by MyDrivers and Wccftech, Xiaomi has successfully taped out its first 3nm SoC.

Though more details are yet to be confirmed, Wccftech indicates that it is possible that Xiaomi will launch the 3nm chipset sometime next year.

Xiaomi, according to the reports, has been developing its own custom chipsets for years. The first product is believed to be Surge S1, which was released with the Mi 5c smartphone in 2017. The report by MyDrivers suggests that the Surge S1, built on 28nm node, is a 64-bit octa-core processor.

Following the Surge S1, Xiaomi went on to develop several chips, reportedly including the Surge C1, Surge G1, and Surge T1, according to MyDrivers.

The information of Xiaomi’s recent success in its 3nm chip tape-out is reportedly disclosed by Tang Jianguo, Chief Economist of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, at Beijing Satellite TV, MyDrivers notes. Citing Tang’s remarks, Wccftech indicates that the achievement is described as a historic milestone for China.

Wccftech further notes that as companies like Huawei have been prohibited from doing business with TSMC or Samsung due to U.S. trade sanctions, if Xiaomi does have reached the tape-out stage for its 3nm chipset, it could enable other Chinese companies, including Huawei, to leverage this technology in their devices.

However, more details are yet to be confirmed, as there are no updates on whether the SoC will use TSMC’s N3E process or the more advanced N3P node, according to Wccftech. Additionally, details about the chipset’s CPU cluster, GPU, or whether it will feature ARM designs or a custom architecture remain unknown. Therefore, it would be better to approach this rumor with caution.

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• [News] Xiaomi Reportedly to Launch In-House Processor in 2025, Manufactured with TSMC’s 4nm
• [News] SMIC Reportedly to Manufacture 5nm Chips for Huawei Without EUV Machinery

(Photo credit: Xiaomi)

TSMC has passed the test of the market with flying colors as it reported record high profit in the third quarter at the earnings call. By confirming that the AI demand is “real,” TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei stated that the foundry giant is expected to enjoy healthy growth over the next five years. But which node would be the one most clients show strong interest in?

According to the reports by the Economic Daily News and MoneyDJ, customer inquiries for 2nm are even higher than those for 3nm, while A16 is highly attractive for AI server applications.

TSMC’s 3nm has already shown robust momentum this year, as its shipments accounted for 20% of total wafer revenue in the third quarter, rising from 9% and 15% in the first and second quarter, respectively.

According to an industrial source cited by MoneyDJ, TSMC started the mass production of 3nm in 2022, while the 2nm is expected to enter volume production in 2025, indicating that the generation cycle for a node has been expanded to three years.

Thus, supported by TSMC’s major clients, the contribution from 3nm will continue to rise next year and remain a key revenue driver in 2026, while the 2nm process is expected to replicate or even surpass the success of 3nm, MoneyDJ notes. According to previous market speculations, tech giants such as Apple, NVIDIA and AMD are believed to be the first batch of TSMC’s 2nm customers.

Citing C.C.Wei, the Economic Daily News notes that the high-performance computing (HPC) applications demand more powerful processors, which accelerates the development of chiplet designs. However, the trend does not seem to impact the adoption of 2nm, and clients are showing even stronger interests for the node compared with 3nm.

And TSMC does plan to expand its 2nm capacity thanks to the strong demand, as the schedule of mass producing 2nm in 2025 remains on track.

According to a previous report from MoneyDJ, TSMC’s 2nm fabs in Hsinchu’s Baoshan and Kaohsiung will achieve a monthly capacity of approximately 30,000 to 35,000 wafers, respectively. By 2027, their combined capacity is set to exceed 100,000 wafers, marking the mainstream transition to the next generation of processes.

As for TSMC’s angstrom-level A16 process, it is creating a buzz even before mass production in 2026. Citing C.C.Wei’s remarks, the report by the Economic Daily News notes that the A16 is highly attractive for AI server applications, and TSMC is actively preparing the related production capacity to meet customer demand.

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• [News] TSMC’s C.C. Wei Declares No Interest in Acquiring Intel’s Fab, Emphasizes ‘AI is Real’
• [News] TSMC 3Q24 EPS Hits Record High, Reaches NT$12.54

Recently, Wuhan Taiziwei Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. in China launched its T150 A photoresist product, which has successfully passed mass production validation for semiconductor processes. With a fully self-designed formula, this achievement is expected to pave the way for a new era in China’s domestic semiconductor lithography manufacturing.

The T150 A product is benchmarked against the mainstream KrF photoresist series from leading international companies. Compared to the widely recognized UV1610 product in the same series, the T150 A demonstrates an extreme resolution of 120nm during the lithography process, offers greater process tolerance, higher stability, and excellent film retention after post-baking

Additionally, it is more compatible with subsequent etching processes. Validation revealed that dense patterns made with T150 A exhibit outstanding verticality of sidewalls in the underlying dielectric after etching.

Industry insiders have commented that, among KrF series photoresist products, the UV1610 product, which T150 A is benchmarked against, is considered a “commonly used resist” with high demand. Currently, Chinese manufacturers such as Beijing Kehua and Xuzhou Bokang have the capability to produce UV1610.

Currently, China’s semiconductor photoresist, especially for high-end products, is still heavily reliant on imports, with Japan being China’s largest source of photoresist imports.

According to data from China’s General Administration of Customs, the total import value of photosensitive chemicals in China reached USD 2.177 billion in 2023, with imports from Japan amounting to USD 1.149 billion, accounting for 52.8% of the total.

From January to June 2024, imports from Japan amounted to USD 638 million, up 16.7% year-on-year. In Q2 of 2024 alone, the total import value was USD 338 million, a year-on-year increase of 15.6% and a 12.6% rise compared to the previous quarter. Japan’s share of imports averaged around 51.5%, remaining at a historically high level in recent years.

Globally, the photoresist market is dominated by Japanese and American manufacturers. Six major companies—JSR Corporation (Japan Synthetic Rubber), Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK), DuPont-Rohm and Haas (USA), Shin-Etsu Chemical (Japan), Sumitomo Chemical (Japan), and Fujifilm Electronic Materials (Japan)—hold a significant monopoly over the semiconductor photoresist market.

Moreover, leading manufacturers in Japan, South Korea, Europe, and the US have already achieved mass production of high-end photoresists. In contrast, the localization rate of China’s photoresists remains low. According to industry data, the domestic production rate of KrF photoresist in China is less than 5%, while the rate for ArF photoresist is less than 1%.

Despite these challenges, China’s photoresist industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years. China has now become one of the largest photoresist markets globally. There are dozens of domestic companies involved in the photoresist industry, and some have achieved significant progress. Notable examples include bcmaterial, RedAvenue, Jingrui, Shanghai Sinyang, and Nata Optoelectronic Material.

(Photo credit: Fujifilm Electronic Materials)

At TSMC’s earnings call on the 17th, the company revealed that its CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate) capacity will double each year in 2024 and 2025, but demand will continue to outpace supply. According to a report from Money DJ, the CoWoS expansion wave is expected to extend into 2026, promising strong growth for equipment suppliers for at least the next two to three years.

TSMC stated that advanced packaging currently accounts for approximately 7-9% of its revenue, and growth in this segment is expected to outpace the company’s average over the next five years. While the gross margin for advanced packaging is slightly below the company average, it is steadily approaching it. Regarding CoWoS capacity, customer demand significantly exceeds TSMC’s ability to supply, even with production capacity doubling year-on-year in both 2024 and 2025.

According to Money DJ, citing supply chain sources, TSMC has already provided equipment manufacturers with its machine requirements for 2026 and placed orders. Delivery schedules for next year are essentially fully booked, and TSMC is currently working with equipment suppliers to finalize shipment and installation plans for 2026.

The report noted that TSMC’s CoWoS monthly production capacity is expected to reach 35,000 to 40,000 wafers this year, and surge to 80,000 wafers per month next year. Originally, the expansion wave was anticipated to slow somewhat by 2026, with monthly capacity reaching around 100,000 to 120,000 wafers. However, strong and urgent demand from major AI customers continues to drive capacity needs, and with the addition of more equipment, TSMC’s CoWoS capacity could still see significant expansion, potentially reaching 140,000 to 150,000 wafers per month by 2026.

In addition, the report provided an overview of TSMC’s advanced packaging supply chain. Key suppliers for wet process equipment include GPTC and Scientech, which provide automated wet benches and single wafer spin processors. Scientech holds a significant share of CoWoS equipment orders, while GPTC remains a key global supplier for major packaging and testing companies like ASE, Micron, Amkor, and Chinese packaging firms.

(Photo credit: TSMC)