Qualcomm is reportedly in discussions with Samsung Electronics about using Samsung’s 2-nanometer (2nm) manufacturing process to produce next-generation Snapdragon chips, potentially marking a return to collaboration after years of near-exclusive reliance on TSMC. CEO Cristiano Amon confirmed at CES 2026 that talks with Samsung are underway, with design work for future 2nm chips already completed and a commercial rollout possible in the near future.
What’s Driving the Potential Return
Qualcomm has traditionally relied on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to produce its most advanced flagship chips. However, growing demand for 2nm production capacity driven by major customers like Apple, NVIDIA, and MediaTek has put pressure on TSMC’s lineup. This has created an opportunity for Samsung’s advanced 2nm foundry to win more business. Qualcomm’s move could help spread manufacturing risk across multiple suppliers and ease supply chain bottlenecks.
Samsung’s 2nm process has already been used to launch its Exynos 2600 chip, which may power some versions of future Galaxy devices and demonstrates that the foundry technology has progressed to commercial viability. At the same time, Samsung’s foundry business has secured major orders from companies like Tesla, which signed a significant deal for AI chips built using advanced processes.
If Qualcomm and Samsung finalize a deal, Samsung Foundry could begin producing 2nm chips such as future Snapdragon flagship processors potentially including variants of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 line using its advanced SF2 process. This would represent a shift back to Samsung’s most cutting-edge manufacturing after past efforts, such as Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 production, faced yield and performance issues.
Qualcomm is expected to use this strategy as part of a diversified foundry approach, maintaining some partnership with TSMC while also tapping Samsung’s capabilities. This could help ensure more stable chip manufacturing capacity and potentially influence pricing and availability across flagship Android devices.
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