Samsung has raised prices for some foundry services by up to 15%.
Chinese and US customers saw the steepest increases for some advanced processes.
Higher prices and stronger demand could help Samsung’s loss-making foundry business move towards profitability.
Samsung Hikes Advanced Chip Prices Up To 15% As AI Demand Surges
Samsung Electronics has raised prices for some advanced contract chipmaking services as strong AI-chip demand puts pressure on foundry capacity and gives the company more pricing power
Samsung Newsroom
Summary
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Samsung Electronics has increased prices for some advanced contract chipmaking services by as much as 15% on new orders, as rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips puts pressure on production capacity, according to a Reuters report.
The price increases come as Samsung seeks to narrow the gap with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which has long dominated the global foundry market. Samsung’s foundry business has remained loss-making since 2022, according to industry estimates.
Samsung raised prices in July for chips made using its 4-nanometre SF4 process. Prices for SF4 customers in China and the US rose 10% to 15% from the previous month, while customers in Taiwan faced increases of 5% to 10%, the news agency reported.
AI Demand Drives Price Hikes
Prices for wafers produced using Samsung’s 5-nanometre SF5 process increased 10% to 15%, while those for its older 8-nanometre technology rose by nearly 10%, according to the report.
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Chinese customers have been particularly keen to secure capacity, but Samsung has been unable to accept all orders as it also needs to serve US customers and reserve capacity for its own chip production, the news agency reported.
Samsung accounted for about 7% of global foundry revenue in the first quarter of 2026, compared with more than 70% for TSMC, according to Counterpoint.
Samsung Foundry Eyes Profitability
With much of TSMC’s leading-edge capacity booked due to AI-chip demand, Samsung has gained more room to increase prices. Samsung expects advanced processes to contribute more than half of its foundry revenue this year.
Samsung’s SF4 production line at its Pyeongtaek plant in South Korea has been running at full capacity since late last year, according to the report.
The company has also secured chipmaking deals with customers including Tesla, Apple and Broadcom. Google is in talks with Samsung to manufacture chips using the SF4 process, Reuters reported.
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Samsung said in July that its foundry business could return to profit in the near future, helped by higher factory utilisation, improved production yields and stronger pricing.