Qualcomm in Talks With Samsung on Dual-Sourcing Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6

Qualcomm has shifted all mass production of its flagship Snapdragon processors to TSMC since 2022. Under its earlier Samsung foundry arrangement, related products had suffered problems with yield and with heat and power consumption, which formed the immediate backdrop to Qualcomm's change in foundry strategy. Qualcomm's new-generation flagship mobile platform now faces fresh discussion over its foundry strategy, and the company is in talks with Samsung Electronics on advanced-process foundry work. Qualcomm Chief Executive Cristiano Amon previously traveled to South Korea to make contact with Samsung's senior management.

Industrial conditions driving the talks include rising prices for advanced-process foundry work at TSMC, capacity that has long been highly strained, and the semiconductor supply chain's practical consideration of spreading manufacturing risk and reducing supply-chain concentration. Samsung has in recent years continued to improve process yields and thermal management, with its process performance and energy efficiency improving, and it has capacity for the latest 2nm process. Under the current direction of the talks, the more demanding high-end version, with stricter specifications and energy-efficiency requirements, will still rely on TSMC's advanced node, while the foundry arrangements for some standard models or specific configuration versions remain under discussion.

If the arrangement is ultimately settled, it would change the exclusive foundry position TSMC has held in Qualcomm's flagship SoC segment for several years, and it also involves Qualcomm's trade-offs in controlling chip material costs and balancing its advanced-process supply chain. As of now, the two sides remain at the stage of advancing consultations, and no official details of the final wafer foundry allocation or the mass-production schedule for each version have been formally announced.