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Samsung has dropped the price for its 2nm wafers by roughly one-third, positioning the foundry to attract customers away from TSMC by offering capacity at about $20,000 per wafer versus TSMC's estimated $30,000. The move signals an aggressive effort to fill underused fabs and recover returns on massive investments in advanced chipmaking.
Why Samsung is slashing 2nm prices
Advanced chip manufacturing is capital intensive: building and qualifying state of the art fabs in South Korea and the US costs billions. With much of Samsung's 2nm capacity sitting idle due to weak order flow, the company appears to be using price as a lever to win business. Historically, Samsung has used aggressive pricing to lure customers away from TSMC, and the new 33% discount follows that familiar playbook.
What this means for designers and the market
Lower wafer prices — reported at roughly $20,000 per 2nm wafer — will make Samsung attractive to cost-sensitive chip designers who previously favored TSMC for its mature 2nm ecosystem and high-profile clients like NVIDIA and AMD. A steep discount can quickly boost utilization and generate revenue, but it also compresses margins. For buyers, the decision will hinge not only on price but also on yield, production reliability, and the maturity of Samsung's 2nm process.
Recent wins and how they could change the picture
Samsung's foundry business has started to regain momentum: a headline deal reportedly worth $16.5 billion with Tesla to manufacture its next-generation AI chip could be the catalyst that brings more contracts. Success with Tesla and potential work for xAI would signal stronger demand and help convince other customers to test or shift production to Samsung, especially if early runs demonstrate competitive yields and performance.
Conclusion
Samsung's 2nm price cut is a tactical bid to fill expensive fabs and challenge TSMC's dominance. While the lower price may lure design wins, long-term gains depend on process maturity, yields, and follow-on contracts. Watch for customer announcements and first-volume results — they will determine whether this discount becomes a turning point for Samsung foundry.
Source: sammobile
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