The Exynos 2500 could be Samsung’s first 3nm GAA smartphone chipset that enters the mass production phase in the fourth quarter of this year, but the Korean giant is not stopping here because it has grand plans concerning its foundry business. A new rumor claims that the company has started developing its 2nm technology, with the intention of applying it to a future Exynos release.
Just like its 3nm GAA variations, Samsung could introduce different versions of its 2nm process
With Apple COO Jeff Williams recently reported to have visited Taiwan in a bid to secure the first 2nm wafer shipment from TSMC, the Korean firm is also rumored by Naver to start development of its own 2nm process codenamed ‘‘Thetis.’ For those wondering, Thetis is the goddess of the sea in Greek mythology and the mother of the Trojan War hero Achilles. Samsung may have chosen this name because the etymology of the word Thetis is derived from the term ‘generations.’
Samsung was previously reported to commence mass production of 2nm GAA wafers in 2025 and is expected to have three iterations of its 3nm GAA technology. The second-generation 3nm GAA node is said to be utilized for the upcoming Exynos 2500, with Samsung aiming to reduce current leakage and increase the power efficiency of this chipset. With its ‘Gate All Around’ technology reportedly being applied to the 2nm lithography, Samsung may exceed what TSMC brings to the table with its own 2nm process.
Unfortunately, the biggest obstacle for Korean foundry has always been yields. Even with its 3nm GAA technology, Samsung faced an abysmal 20 percent yield, and even though it has seemingly managed to increase that figure to three times the original value, it continues to trail behind TSMC. Samsung is pushing the pace of mass producing cutting-edge silicon as it wants to maintain a higher adoption of Exynos chipsets in future flagship smartphone releases.
This will help to reduce its dependency on Qualcomm and lower its chipset expense, which reached a whopping $7 billion in 2023 because Samsung launched the Galaxy S23 lineup exclusively with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. With its Q1 2024 financials, Samsung’s operating profit jumped an unfathomable 933 percent compared to Q1 2023, showing that the company is optimizing its various business arms, and this approach can go a long way in improving the yields of its 2nm GAA process.
News Source: Naver
