Samsung raises chipmaking prices by up to 15% amid demand surge

Samsung Foundry is hiking chip manufacturing prices by up to 15% for new customers, a move that signals just how dramatically the AI boom has reshaped the semiconductor supply chain. The increases target the company’s most advanced manufacturing processes, including its 4nm and 5nm nodes, along with select 8nm applications aimed at the automotive sector. Samsung’s foundry division recently achieved monthly profitability for the first time in three years, clawing back from a prolonged stretch of financial losses. Demand for advanced semiconductor manufacturing, driven primarily by AI workloads, has outpaced Samsung Foundry’s available production capacity. From discounts to price hikes Not long ago, Samsung was playing a very different game. The company had been offering competitive discounts, including cuts on its cutting-edge 2nm processes, essentially trying to buy market share from the dominant player in contract chipmaking. That strategy appears to be over. Samsung isn’t alone in making this calculation. TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and Samsung’s primary competitor in advanced nodes, has reportedly raised its own prices by 5-10% across its 3nm, 5nm, and 7nm manuf...