Qualcomm is reportedly aiming to diversify chip production to Samsung, amid rising TSMC wafer prices.
Qualcomm produced its recent flagship chip using TSMC's 3nm process technology
Photo Credit: Qualcomm
Qualcomm relied on TSMC to manufacture its recent flagship chipsets, but that pattern could change soon. The chipmaker is reportedly in talks with Samsung for the production of the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 using Samsung's 2nm process. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon has reportedly arrived in South Korea to discuss the company's return to Samsung's foundry business with the executives. Improved yields at Samsung and increased manufacturing costs are likely to be the key reasons for Qualcomm's move to Samsung. Amon reportedly met with executives from SK Hynix.
As per a report by Hankyung.com (in Korean), Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon visited South Korea to meet Samsung executives. The core agenda of Amon's visit to Korea is the association with Samsung Foundry for the production of Qualcomm's next-generation Snapdragon 8 Elite chips, aka Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 SoCs, using a 2nm process.
If a contract is signed, this would mark Qualcomm's comeback to Samsung for cutting-edge chip production after several years of relying on TSMC. The shift is driven by Samsung's restoration of technological credibility through the resolution of chronic yield and overheating issues. Qualcomm is reportedly aiming to diversify chip production to Samsung, amid rising costs of TSMC's wafer.
The report further states that the Qualcomm CEO met with SK Hynix to discuss measures to secure memory semiconductor supplies as the demand for memory is increasing, fuelled by AI.
At the CES 2026 in January, Cristiano Amon said that Qualcomm had begun discussions with Samsung Electronics for chip manufacturing. Qualcomm chose TSMC in 2022 over Samsung Electronics to manufacture its processors due to performance concerns.
The next-generation Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 series chipsets are likely to be released this year at the annual Snapdragon Summit in September or October this year. This chip is likely to be used in flagship smartphones from Samsung, Xiaomi and OnePlus. We can expect models like Xiaomi 18, OnePlus 16, and Samsung Galaxy S27 to feature Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro chipsets manufactured using Samsung's 2nm process.
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