Samsung's 2nm yield nears 60% as TSMC keeps its lead

Sep 29, 2026

Samsung is making real progress on its most advanced chipmaking process, but TSMC's grip on the market looks safe for now — good news for TSMC investors, mixed for Samsung.

  • Samsung's 2nm yield has climbed from 30% last year to close to 60%, enough to start courting big customers.
  • Samsung plans to use next year's Tesla chip order as a springboard to win work from Qualcomm and Broadcom.
  • TSMC holds 72.5% of the contract chipmaking market against Samsung's 5.9%, and its 2nm capacity is already sold out through 2028.
  • TSMC charges about 50% more for 2nm than 3nm wafers and refuses to discount, even for its largest customers.
  • Samsung's first 2nm phone chip uses more power than Qualcomm's latest, so a second-generation version is being rushed out to fix efficiency.

Outlook: Samsung and Intel look set to fight over second place rather than threaten TSMC, and Samsung's foundry business likely stays unprofitable until its Texas plant fills up.

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