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Samsung Foundry may split from Samsung – Advantages and Challenges
Samsung Foundry may become a separate firm in 3 to 5 years. The company has established a task force within the business that is responsible to sequentially split the Samsung Foundry division from Samsung Electronics.
Korea’s TopDaily reports that Samsung Foundry may split from Samsung Electronics. The task force has three to five years to complete a smooth spin-off. With this strategic move, the company aims to attract major clients.
Samsung Foundry Spin-off
Samsung launched the Foundry division as an independent business in 2017. Since then, the company has been focussing on ambitious investments to foster business growth. However, the division is set to post significant losses this year.
The market has long demanded that Samsung spin off its Foundry business. Industry insiders believe that splitting the foundry business would be beneficial for attracting clients, as greater independence would help secure customer contracts.
Should Samsung spin off the Foundry division?
Separating Foundry from Electronics would be quite challenging for Samsung. The company will be requiring massive funding to spin off the Foundry business. The funding from other firms will significantly affect their performance and growth rate.
Reports say tens of trillions of KRW (billions of dollars) investment will be needed for Samsung Foundry. That said, it will be more advantageous for the foundry to remain under Samsung’s umbrella and secure growth.
How separation will benefit?
After TSMC, Samsung Foundry is the second-largest semiconductor foundry in the world. The company is involved in both memory and system semiconductors. Additionally, it also operates in Foundry and Fabless businesses.
Meanwhile, these advantages are somehow backfiring Samsung Foundry. It is speculated that foundry clients may find it burdensome to entrust semiconductor designs—considered their trade secrets—to Samsung Elec and System LSI.
System LSI division runs a fabless business focused on 5G and AI chips, which competes to some extent with fabless companies like Qualcomm, NVIDIA, and Apple, which could be retained by Samsung Foundry after separation.
Samsung Galaxy S25 series could get a price hike in South Korea. The reason is political chaos in the country, including the brief implementation of martial law.
Korean media reports that Samsung may increase the price of the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra. Due to political turmoil, the Korean currency has significantly weakened to the US dollar.
The Galaxy S25 series could be affected by exchange rates. TSMC has already raised its production costs, and the rising value of the dollar has significantly increased chip purchase costs.
After President Yoon’s “emergency martial law” incident, the Korean Won’s rates have weakened against the US dollar, which has led to an increase in product prices.
Samsung is likely to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chip across the Galaxy S25 series. As there is no Exynos configured, the company may have an intense burden of product costs.
Galaxy S24 and S24+ released earlier this year cost the same as their predecessor. However, the S24 Ultra’s price increased by 100,000 won compared to the Galaxy S23 Ultra due to Snapdragon.
Qualcomm has increased the Snapdragon chipset’s pricing by up to 30%. This is due to the utilization of TSMC’s cutting-edge 3nm fabrication process for the first time.
As all models tentatively use Snapdragon chips, a price hike seems unavoidable. However, freezing prices would significantly affect the company’s operating profit and revenue generation.
Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at $1299 in the US, while the S24 Ultra starts at $1399. There’s already a difference of $100, and another price bump would reduce Samsung’s storm.
Samsung has launched the Enterprise Edition of the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S24 in India. These devices are strictly designed to meet the needs of businesses by offering enhanced security, extended support, and streamlined management.
The new Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Ultra Enterprise Edition smartphones aim to empower businesses with reliable, secure, and manageable mobile solutions tailored to the rapidly digitizing business landscape in India.
Here are the key features and offerings for businesses:
Key Features of Galaxy S24 and S24 Ultra Enterprise Edition
Built for Business
Includes popular Galaxy AI features such as:
- Live Translate and Interpreter for real-time translations.
- Note Assist for generating summaries and templates in Samsung Notes.
- Circle to Search with Google for enhanced search capabilities.
Enhanced Security and Management
- Includes a 12-month subscription to Knox Suite:
- Defense-grade security.
- Streamlined device/OS management.
- Insights into device usage and security.
- Offers up to 7 years of continuous firmware updates to protect against threats like malware and phishing.
- Tailored capabilities for frontline workers.
Specifications
Galaxy S24 Ultra Enterprise Edition:
- 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.
Galaxy S24 Enterprise Edition:
- 8GB RAM and 256GB storage.
Both models provide stable device availability, continuous patch management, and consistent Android OS version updates for up to seven years.
Business Continuity
- A 3-year warranty ensures uninterrupted market availability and device support.
- Designed to handle demanding business use cases, enabling seamless operations.
Availability
The Galaxy S24, S24 Ultra Enterprise Edition, and rugged XCover7 smartphones are available for corporate and institutional customers via the Samsung Corporate+ portal at Samsung.com/in/corporateplus.
Apple outpaced Samsung in the adoption of a 3nm chipset last year. It looks like Apple will beat Samsung in the 2nm TSMC chip next year. A new report suggests that next year’s iPhone Pro series will boast a 2nm chipset.
Taiwan’s Commercial Times reports that TSMC’s 2nm process is set to begin design work between January and April next year. Apple will be the first 2nm TSMC customer, beating Qualcomm which supplies Snapdragon chips to Samsung.
Currently, the most advanced process is 3nm, which both TSMC and Samsung Electronics are capable of producing. As the width of semiconductor circuit lines narrows, power efficiency improves, and performance increases.
Last heard, TSMC’s 2nm test production yield exceeded 60%, making mass production feasible next year. The current progress of the 2nm process technology suggests that mass production will proceed as planned in 2025.
Being the world’s leading contract chip manufacturing company, TSMC is solidifying its dominance. It continues to expand its global market share, outpacing Samsung Foundry while making steady progress in advanced processes.
The Chairman of Taiwan’s TSMC recently stated that the customer demand for 2nm products is higher than for 3nm. The industry consensus is that TSMC will continue to lead in cutting-edge processes for the time being.
TrendForce recently reported that TSMC generated $23.527 billion in foundry market revenue in the third quarter of this year, marking a 13% increase from the previous quarter.
The company’s market share reached 64.9%, maintaining its first-place position and improving from the previous quarter’s 62.3%, with the gap with Samsung Foundry continuing to widen.