Expected to Focus on Yield and Production Capacity Improvement
Jun. 24, 2025 –
Samsung Electronics' foundry division has decided to postpone the construction of its 1.4nm (nanometer, 1 billionth of a meter) trial line, which was scheduled for this year. The company is concentrating its workforce and investments on the 2nm process, which is set for mass production at the end of this year.
According to industry sources on June 23, Samsung Electronics has temporarily postponed its plan to construct a 1.4nm foundry trial line in part of its Pyeongtaek Plant 2 from the second quarter. The facility investment for 1.4nm has been pushed back to the end of this year or the first half of next year at the earliest. The company had previously announced a roadmap to start 1.4nm process services from next year. However, with the delay in trial line construction, the possibility of initial mass production next year has become uncertain, and predictions that production will commence around 2028 are gaining traction.
Samsung’s decision to delay the 1.4nm investment stems from the downturn in the foundry industry. The company’s foundry is currently experiencing difficulties due to weak customer orders and declining sales. It is reported that in the first quarter of this year alone, Samsung’s foundry division recorded a loss of around 2 trillion won.
Consequently, the foundry division has reduced its annual facility investment from the early 10 trillion won range to about 5 trillion won this year, focusing on conservative investment and management. In fact, the construction of the 1.4nm trial line, which was almost the only cutting-edge process investment planned for this year, was postponed, indicating that order performance for advanced processes has not been satisfactory.
Samsung Electronics has decided to concentrate its capabilities on the immediate process advancement rather than aggressive investment in leading-edge technology. In particular, it is expected to focus all efforts on improving the yield and increasing production capacity of the 2nm process, which will begin mass production at the end of the year.
Samsung’s foundry will produce the application processor (AP) “Exynos 2600,” scheduled for release at the end of this year by the System LSI division, using the 2nm process. To lead this project to success, Nam Seok-woo, chief technology officer (CTO) of Samsung’s foundry division, is operating a 2nm task force (TF) team. The possibility of mass production has increased, while meeting the conditions required by Samsung Electronics’ mobile division to mount the Exynos 2600 on the “Galaxy S26” smartphone. However, with the foundry division’s 2nm yield remaining at 20-30%, technological advancement is required to increase productivity.
Furthermore, to increase order volume from North American Big Tech companies, the 2nm mass production technology must be solidly supported. Samsung’s foundry is focusing on securing orders from companies like Tesla and Qualcomm. An industry insider said, “As the newly constructed Taylor plant in the U.S. is also considering 2nm process deployment, related process advancement needs to follow quickly.” Samsung’s foundry is reviewing plans to convert part of the 3nm line at Hwaseong Campus (S3) to a 2nm line by the end of the year, depending on the order volume. A company official responded to this matter, saying, “We cannot confirm foundry facility investments.”