Samsung’s foundry business faces ongoing losses and strategic uncertainty. A report from Business Korea reveals that Samsung Securities, a subsidiary of the group, issued a report in July titled “Geopolitical Shifts and Industry,” recommending that Samsung spin off its foundry division and list it in the U.S.

In the second half of this year, Samsung ramped up production of its Gate-All-Around (GAA) 3nm second-generation process, but unstable yields have failed to attract clients.

According to TrendForce, TSMC held 62.3% of the global foundry market in Q2, while Samsung captured just 11.5%. Major tech players like Nvidia and Apple have partnered with TSMC, leaving Samsung struggling to secure similarly high-profile contracts.

Business Korea reports that Samsung will hold its Foundry Forum online on October 24, highlighting the challenges its foundry division is facing. Around mid-October, the company is also expected to announce its third-quarter results, with analysts cited by Business Korea predicting a 500 billion won ($385 million) loss in the non-memory segment, which includes the foundry and system LSI businesses.

Adding to the woes, the Exynos 2500 chip, produced with the GAA 3nm process, is yielding poorly, casting doubt on its inclusion in next year’s Galaxy S25. Delays in the 2nm process further complicate Samsung’s roadmap.

Rumors are circulating about a potential reallocation of foundry personnel to the memory division. Externally, there are calls for Samsung to spin off the foundry business. Samsung Securities advocates for strategic shifts, suggesting further U.S. expansion and the potential spinoff and U.S. listing of the foundry division.

In fact, the suggestion for Samsung to spin off its foundry business has been driven by Intel’s recent decisions. On September 16th, Intel announced that it would transform its foundry division into a wholly-owned subsidiary with its own board of directors.

Meanwhile, Intel also signed a multi-billion-dollar, multi-year deal with Amazon to manufacture chips for Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) AI data centers.

(Photo credit: Samsung)