The S.Korean chip giant's new US foundry head, Margaret Han, worked for TSMC for more than 20 years
www.kedglobal.com, Jun. 02, 2025 –
Samsung Electronics Co. has brought a former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSMC) executive on board to lead its North American foundry operations, ramping up efforts to bolster its loss-making contract chipmaking business in the US.
Earlier this year, Samsung Device Solutions Americas (DSA), the South Korean memory chip giant’s US semiconductor unit, appointed Margaret Han as executive vice president to head its US foundry business, according to industry sources on Monday.
Han previously served as head of Global External Foundry Sourcing and Supplier Management at Intel Corp., following a 21-year career at TSMC, where she held roles in sales, marketing and business development. She also worked at NXP Semiconductors, overseeing global procurement.
Han’s appointment comes as Samsung seeks to strengthen its position in the US foundry market by securing large foundry orders from big tech customers such as Nvidia Corp., Tesla Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.
The Korean chip company is currently constructing a $17 billion chip fabrication plant in Taylor, Texas, to boost its production capacity on US soil. The plant's production timeline has been pushed back two years to 2026.
Han is expected to leverage her two decades of experience in customer relations and sales at TSMC to support Samsung’s foundry business.
DEEP IN THE RED
Despite years of investment to crack the dominance of TSMC in the global chip foundry market, Samsung’s contract chipmaking business continues to trail its Taiwanese rival.
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, Samsung, the world’s No. 2 foundry player, had 8.2% market share, compared with TSMC’s 67.1%.
The division also posted more than 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion) in operating losses in the fourth quarter of 2024, elevating the annual loss to more than 4 trillion won.