Samsung 'shocked' to lose Google Pixel 10 chip manufacturing contract

Google's move to shift production of its Tensor G5 chips for the upcoming Pixel 10 series from Samsung's chip foundry to TSMC has come as a "shock" to Samsung and a wake-up call for the company's efforts to grow its semiconductor manufacturing business, according to a new report.

For the past few years, Google has been working with Samsung to produce custom Tensor chipsets for its Pixel devices. While that has been a bumpy ride, and despite Samsung’s recent improvements, Google has been slowly moving toward a design that’s entirely in-house and manufactured by TSMC.

The Pixel 10 with Tensor G5 is Google's first chip made by TSMC, the same factory that makes chips for Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Apple.

According to the Korean financial blog The Bell , Samsung is currently investigating why it lost the Pixel Tensor chip manufacturing contract to TSMC. Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions division held a global strategy meeting to discuss the issue. Since chip manufacturing technology has fallen below 5nm, the competitive gap between Samsung and TSMC has been widening.

A report in late May suggested that Samsung is struggling to attract customers for its chip manufacturing services, largely because TSMC has higher yields. While Samsung is said to only achieve a 50% recovery rate of functioning chips after being produced on a 3nm wafer, TSMC achieves a 90% recovery rate.

According to analyst firm TrendForce , Samsung Foundry’s global market share continued to decline – to 7.7% in the first quarter of this year compared to 8.1% in the fourth quarter of last year. Meanwhile, TSMC’s market share increased from 67.1% to 67.6%.

Currently, chip maker Samsung Foundry is focusing on developing the Exynos 2600 processor designed by Samsung itself, which is expected to equip the Galaxy S26 and S26+ in some markets next year. This chip is manufactured on the 2nm process and is entering the mass production trial phase.

This is considered an important test for Samsung Foundry. If the yield rate and chip performance meet the requirements, they can win back customers from TSMC.

Manh Hung (Source: Phone Arena, 9to5Google)

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/samsung-soc-khi-mat-hop-dong-san-xuat-chip-google-pixel-10-ar950409.html