Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm had been discussing 2 nm contract manufacturing since early this year. This was driven by expectations that issues such as low yields which have been a long-standing Achilles' heel for Samsung, had been resolved to a considerable extent. In fact, Qualcomm’s chief executive officer (CEO) publicly mentioned the possibility of cooperation with Samsung, heightening expectations that the foundry cooperation between the two companies, which has been suspended since 2022, could resume. Qualcomm had entrusted Samsung with production of cutting-edge APs through 2021, but after thermal throttling issues surfaced, it switched back to TSMC.

However, industry analysis suggest that Samsung's recurring yield issues have once again become a stumbling block. Critics point out that the yield issue, which had been repeated for years, has recurred even at 2 nm. As a result, controversy over process stability has resurfaced, and it is reported that setbacks have emerged in the contract-manufacturing discussions between the two companies.

Yield refers to the ratio of functional dies per wafer. Assuming 100 chips are made on a wafer (substrate), a 60% yield means 60 normal chips can be produced. According to the industry, Samsung Electronics’ 2 nm process yield was only in the low 20% range in the second half of last year, and even recently it has reportedly fallen somewhat short of around the 60% level which is considered necessary for stable mass production. By contrast, TSMC’s 2 nm process yield stands at 60% to 70% with mass-production stability already proven.