TSMC-Samsung in fierce battle over 2nm chip manufacturing: Significant yield gap

In the ongoing race within the semiconductor industry, TSMC and Samsung Electronics are fiercely competing to lead in 2nm chip manufacturing. As per recent reports, both companies plan to begin mass production of 2nm chips in 2H25. However, TSMC is at an advantage in securing orders due to its superiority of yield rate.

TSMC has already begun receiving orders for its 2nm process, with production expected to take place at its Hsinchu Baoshan and Kaohsiung fabs. This marks the company’s first adoption of gate-all-around (GAA) architecture. The new process is expected to deliver a 10% to 15% performance improvement, a 25% to 30% reduction in power consumption, and a 15% increase in transistor density compared to the current 3nm process. Major customers reportedly include AMD, Apple, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and MediaTek. Notably, AMD’s EPYC processor codenamed “Venice” has become the first high-performance computing product based on TSMC’s 2nm process.

In contrast, Samsung is also proceeding with its own 2nm production plans, targeting its upcoming flagship Galaxy S26’s Exynos 2600 processor. However, Samsung’s current yield rate is only around 40%, significantly lower than TSMC’s 60%, which poses a challenge in attracting orders. Despite being the first company to adopt GAA architecture for 3nm chip production, Samsung continues to struggle with improving yields.

As TSMC continues to improve its 2nm process yield, it is expected to further solidify its leadership in the global semiconductor market and potentially drive growth across the broader supply chain.

Source: TrendForce, Taiwan.