Samsung and Qualcomm Stall on 2nm Foundry Pricing After Technical Hurdles Clear

Samsung Electronics has cleared the technical threshold that had long hindered cooperation with Qualcomm in its bid for 2nm chip foundry orders, but just as the technical issues are gradually being resolved, the two sides have diverged on foundry pricing, preventing a formal agreement from being reached.

For some time, Qualcomm had not entrusted its new-generation flagship chips to Samsung, largely because the yield and stability of Samsung's advanced processes fell short of Qualcomm's requirements. Qualcomm therefore continued to have the 2nm chips for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro produced by TSMC, using TSMC's N2P process. Samsung has now made clear progress on its 2nm SF2 process and its second-generation 2nm SF2P process, and the technical obstacles that previously affected cooperation with Qualcomm have largely been resolved. Samsung's own Exynos 2700 is seen as important evidence of the improved maturity of its 2nm process. Previously, the yield of Samsung's 2nm process had been unable to reach the level required by large customers for mass commercial production. For chip design companies, wafer yield, performance stability and mass-production capability equally determine final cost and supply reliability.

Samsung has been working in recent years to raise the yield of its 2nm process and to further improve performance and production efficiency through its second-generation 2nm technology. After the technical problems were resolved, however, a new disagreement emerged over price. Qualcomm wants Samsung to further lower its 2nm foundry pricing, but Samsung is unwilling to accept that demand. Samsung believes the volume of 2nm chips Qualcomm plans to assign to it is not sufficient to support a substantial price cut.

Samsung's foundry business strategy is changing. In past years, Samsung adopted a relatively aggressive pricing strategy, winning customer orders through low prices in order to expand its foundry customer base. But as demand for artificial intelligence chips has surged in recent years and capacity for advanced processes has become increasingly tight, Samsung has begun to gradually strengthen its bargaining power. In August 2026, Samsung was reported to have raised foundry prices for some advanced processes, with increases of as much as 15% on new orders. Samsung has also recently won large orders from major customers including Tesla and Broadcom, further bolstering its confidence in the foundry market.

Qualcomm currently faces rising costs in its chip business, and TSMC's 2nm process is itself expensive. If Samsung can be brought into the manufacturing mix, a dual-supplier strategy could reduce production costs while lessening dependence on TSMC as a single foundry. Manufacturing costs for advanced processes are inherently very high. A 2nm wafer requires extremely expensive advanced manufacturing equipment, including ASML's high-numerical-aperture extreme ultraviolet lithography tools. Foundries must balance huge equipment investment, research and development costs and relatively high production risk, while lower wafer yields further push up the actual manufacturing cost of each chip.

Negotiations between the two sides have therefore reached an impasse. Even if Samsung and Qualcomm reach a price agreement immediately, it will still take time to form a legally binding foundry contract.

As the global memory market experiences supply tightness, DRAM and NAND flash prices continue to rise, and smartphone makers face noticeably greater pressure on overall device costs. With chip procurement volumes falling, foundries also have less room to spread fixed costs through economies of scale, further intensifying the two sides' disagreement over the price per wafer.

This would both meet the needs of some flagship smartphone makers and reduce the cost pressure brought by a full shift to 2nm.

For Samsung, another important change is that its foundry business is gradually moving away from its past strategy of trading price for orders. With the addition of large customers such as Tesla and Broadcom, and with demand for AI chip manufacturing continuing to increase, Samsung has gained more bargaining room. At present, this information still comes mainly from industry sources, and Samsung and Qualcomm have not officially announced the final outcome of their 2nm foundry agreement. It therefore remains impossible to fully confirm whether Samsung has completely resolved the 2nm yield issues Qualcomm previously focused on, and whether the two sides can ultimately agree on price.

If Samsung ultimately secures Qualcomm's 2nm orders, it would be an important breakthrough for its advanced-process business. Qualcomm is one of the world's largest mobile SoC design companies, and its flagship chip orders are not only considerable in scale but also carry strong industry demonstration effects. Conversely, if the two sides ultimately fail to cooperate because of price, Samsung would still be unable to convert its technical advantage into actual Qualcomm orders, even though it has crossed the threshold Qualcomm previously set at the technical level. The key to this negotiation has gradually shifted from whether Samsung can do 2nm well to what price the two sides are willing to cooperate at.