Samsung’s 4-Nanometer Yield Tops 80% in AI Chip Foundry Push

Broadcom is a major supplier of custom silicon and accelerators used in artificial intelligence infrastructure, with advanced chip production historically concentrated at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. A partnership spanning Samsung Electronics’ HBM4 high-bandwidth memory, 2-nanometer foundry process and advanced packaging would give Broadcom an alternative source of capacity while deepening semiconductor supply-chain ties between the US and South Korea.

As of July 27, 2026, reports said Samsung Electronics and Broadcom had signed a five-year memorandum of understanding with a potential value of as much as $200 billion. Samsung would supply HBM4 for Broadcom’s next-generation AI accelerators and manufacture related chips using its 2-nanometer process, alongside broader packaging cooperation. The disclosed figure represents the pact’s estimated ceiling, while binding order volumes and production timelines have yet to be confirmed.

Samsung Electronics is returning to the personal-computer chip market after 12 years, aiming to confront leading U.S. chipmakers Nvidia and Qualcomm in the rapidly growing artificial intelligence PC market. As opportunities in edge computing and physical AI expand, Samsung plans to use its memory and foundry capabilities to develop its own processor, gain greater control of the ecosystem and reduce its reliance on external chip suppliers.

Samsung Electronics’ System LSI division is secretly developing a 4-nanometer accelerator chip dedicated to AI PCs under the code name “Gaia.” Samples have already been sent to major customers including Lenovo and HP for validation. Samsung expects to begin formal mass production as early as 2027 and hopes its in-house 4-nanometer semiconductor process will give the chip an advantage in AI performance and power consumption as it takes on U.S. semiconductor giants.

High-bandwidth memory, or HBM, is a critical part of the AI accelerator supply chain. Samsung, which spans memory, foundry services and advanced packaging, hopes to leverage HBM4 supply to secure logic-chip orders. TrendForce data showed TSMC held 69.9% of the foundry market in 2025, with revenue of $122.5 billion, while Samsung had just 7.2% and $12.6 billion. The yield gap remains an obstacle to winning orders.

Samsung announced mass production of HBM4 on February 12 and signed an MOU with AMD on March 19 to become a primary HBM4 supplier for the Instinct MI455X. The companies will also assess whether Samsung could manufacture next-generation chips, while reports said Samsung plans to supply OpenAI later in 2026. Samsung has budgeted $73.5 billion for facilities and R&D in 2026, up 21.7% from a year earlier. Its Taylor, Texas, plant is expected to begin producing chips in the second half of 2027 under Tesla's $16.5 billion AI chip order.

High-bandwidth memory, or HBM, is a critical component that enables Nvidia’s AI accelerators to process vast amounts of data quickly, making supply capacity a key factor in new chip shipments. Samsung Electronics is competing with SK hynix and Micron Technology to strengthen its position in the AI hardware supply chain by increasing the share of HBM4 and upgrading its manufacturing processes.

Samsung Electronics recently announced plans to expand capacity in line with Nvidia’s next-generation AI chip launch cycle, raising HBM4 to more than half of its total HBM output. Samsung also unveiled its future technology roadmap for the first time, including plans to fully adopt an advanced 2-nanometer process for the HBM5 generation. It has yet to disclose the exact investment amount, mass-production date or scale of the additional capacity.