Intel and Rapidus Seek Opportunity in Samsung Foundry Speed Control

As Samsung Electronics recorded a deficit in the trillions of won in its semiconductor foundry business last year and reduced its facility investment, Japan's Rapidus and the U.S.'s Intel are accelerating their pursuit for second place. They



are targeting Samsung Electronics, which is in second place, instead of Taiwan's TSMC, which is the undisputed leader in the foundry market.



Samsung Electronics Foundry Division (from left) Managing Director Jeong Won-cheol, Vice President Koo Ja-heum, and Managing Director Kang Sang-beom show 3nm wafers at the 3nm mass production line at the Hwaseong Campus. [Photo = Samsung Electronics]



According to the electronics industry on the 10th, Samsung Electronics invested 53.6 trillion won in annual facility investment last year.



Although it surpassed the previous record of 53.1153 trillion won in 2022, foundry-related investments have been reduced. This is because the foundry division has been recording deficits in the trillions of won since the second half of last year due to the withdrawal of large customers. Last year, Samsung Electronics' foundry market share fell to 9.3%, widening the gap with TSMC (64.9%).



Samsung Electronics has been saying since the second half of last year that it would reduce its facility investment in the foundry business. Regarding this year's facility investment, it only said, "Detailed plans have not been finalized, but memory investment will be similar to last year." There



is also speculation that whether or not the Exynos series will be installed in next year's 'Galaxy S26' series could determine the existence of Samsung's foundry division. This is because the Galaxy S series sells a significant amount of units, ranging from 35 million to 40 million units worldwide.



Samsung Electronics installed Qualcomm's application processor (AP), the 'Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy', in all models of the 'Galaxy S25' series. In the past, the domestic release or general models of the Galaxy S series installed Exynos, but this time, Qualcomm chips were used for all units.



As Samsung Electronics MX Business Division President Roh Tae-moon explained at a press conference after the product launch, "Samsung Electronics' Galaxy AP has had the principle of selecting the best AP since the Galaxy S1," this means that even Samsung did not use the Exynos developed by Samsung.



An official from the semiconductor industry said, "The performance degradation of Exynos is a complex problem that combines the design of the system LSI and the production of the foundry," and added, "It is not just a problem for the foundry, so it can be seen that Samsung Electronics has more homework to solve internally."



GlobalFoundries New York Fab 8 plant [Photo = GlobalFoundries]



Intel in the US and Rapidus in Japan are trying to use Samsung Electronics' move to slow down its foundry business as an opportunity to bounce back.



Intel has been actively looking for a successor since CEO Pat Gelsinger resigned at the end of last year, and it has been reported that a merger with GlobalFoundries is being discussed behind the scenes during this process. It is said



that Intel's board of directors has nominated Thomas Caulfield, the current chairman of GlobalFoundries, as a candidate for the next CEO. There is also speculation that Chairman Caulfield could lead Intel or Intel Foundries, which is scheduled to be spun off.



Jeffrey Cooper, a semiconductor industry consultant in the U.S., said, "It seems that the U.S. government wants to merge Intel and GlobalFoundries in order to increase the size of the U.S. foundry company." Some analysts



say that the transfer of the GlobalFoundries chairman to Intel CEO is not at all positive news for Samsung.



Industry analyst Lee Ju-wan said, "While Samsung Electronics is trying to revive DRAM first and then focus on foundries, the mere transfer of the GlobalFoundries chairman to Intel could increase difficulties in the foundry market." He



added, "GlobalFoundries has a longer history in the foundry industry than Intel and has advantages in legacy fields," and predicted, "If the merger of the two companies is pushed forward, Intel will be able to increase its market share in advanced processes and GlobalFoundries in legacy processes."



Rapidus, Japan's only semiconductor foundry company established in 2022. [Photo = Lapidus]



Lapidus, a virtual state-run foundry in which the Japanese government and major corporations including Toyota have invested 6.34 billion dollars (approximately 9.2012 trillion won), is aiming to produce advanced semiconductors using a 2-nanometer (nm) process by 2027.



Last December, Lapidus received 10 units of ASML's extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment for its Chitose fab in Hokkaido. According to Lapidus, EUV lithography is one of the key technologies for realizing 2-nanometer semiconductors.



It is scheduled to begin operation of a pilot line at the Chitose fab in April.





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