(Bloomberg) — Samsung Electronics Co. unveiled several upcoming technology advances as it aims to attract AI chipmakers to its manufacturing operations.
Samsung is the world's No. 1 memory chip maker but is trying to catch up with rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) in the foundry market, which makes customer-designed chips. Samsung held its annual Foundry Forum on Wednesday at its U.S. chip headquarters in San Jose, California, where it unveiled its chip-making roadmap and outlined its vision for the era of artificial intelligence.
According to TrendForce, Samsung's share of the foundry market fell to 11% in the first quarter of this year from 11.3% in the previous quarter, while TSMC's share rose to 61.7% from 61.2% in the same period.
The South Korean semiconductor maker's revenue is recovering, buoyed by demand for components used in AI computing systems, which is bolstering its main memory chip division and creating outsourcing opportunities.
But Samsung needs to prove its production is advanced and reliable enough to attract bigger commitments from demanding customers such as Nvidia Corp., which makes the AI accelerators that are essential for big tech companies. Samsung also faces a new challenge from Intel Corp., which is opening a factory there in an attempt to win orders from its former rival.
Advances in manufacturing technology, typically signified by smaller and smaller transistor dimensions, help improve the performance of electronic components. The race to shrink dimensions is key to winning orders for AI processors, which are among the most powerful and expensive chips in use today.
The advanced process introduced by Samsung employs so-called backside power delivery network technology, which places the power rails on the backside of the silicon wafer, a technology that the company claims will improve power, performance and area, and significantly reduce voltage drop, compared to the first-generation 2-nanometer process.
Samsung also argues that its ability to provide logic, memory and advanced packaging will help it fast-track winning outsourced semiconductor manufacturing orders for AI-related chips.
The company on Wednesday predicted that its AI-related customer list will grow five-fold and revenue will grow nine-fold by 2028. The company unveiled several new types of manufacturing techniques and layouts for future AI-related chips that it says will help it win over customers.
Samsung executives declined to comment on the status of efforts to supply Nvidia with its latest high-performance memory chips and did not respond to reports that the company has not yet achieved certification for such chips at Nvidia.
Samsung also touted its gate-all-around (GAA) technology, which is key to AI products. The company plans to mass-produce its second-generation 3-nanometer process later this year and realize GAA in the upcoming 2-nanometer process. In 2022, Samsung will be the first in the industry to start GAA-based 3-nanometer mass production.
The company confirmed that it remains on track to prepare for 1.4 nanometer, with performance and yield targets on track for volume production in 2027.
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