Following Apple, MediaTek's (2454.TW) latest flagship mobile chip, the "Dimensity 9600 Pro," is confirmed to use TSMC's enhanced 2nm N2P process.
MediaTek officially unveiled the Dimensity 9600 Pro on the 15th of this month, marking the company's first flagship mobile system-on-chip (SoC) built on TSMC's 2nm process.
Analysts believe that if MediaTek's Dimensity 9600 Pro can demonstrate stable volume production and performance in the market, it will help TSMC's case in securing Qualcomm's subsequent 2nm orders.
Tesla is Samsung's marquee customer for the 2nm process.
Samsung plans to produce Tesla's next-generation AI semiconductor, the "AI5," on its 2nm process, with pilot production and yield verification currently underway.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (2330.TW) has further extended its lead in the advanced process race. Following Apple, MediaTek's (2454.TW) latest flagship mobile chip, the "Dimensity 9600 Pro," is confirmed to use TSMC's enhanced 2nm N2P process. This signals that TSMC now has the capability to stably allocate 2nm capacity to multiple major customers, rather than concentrating it on a single client.
MediaTek officially unveiled the Dimensity 9600 Pro on the 15th of this month, marking the company's first flagship mobile system-on-chip (SoC) built on TSMC's 2nm process. According to official specifications, the new chip features an 8-core all-big-core architecture with up to 33 billion transistors. Compared with the previous generation, single-core performance improves by 17%, multi-core performance by 15%, and multi-core power consumption can be reduced by up to 61%. In on-device artificial intelligence (AI) computing, large language model pre-processing performance improves by 51%, clearly targeting the premium smartphone market.
South Korean media outlet Chosun Biz reported on the 17th that TSMC has been securing orders from major chip design houses in succession, with its advanced process capacity and customer base continuing to expand. Analysts believe this gives TSMC a greater advantage in its foundry competition with Samsung Electronics.
A South Korean foundry industry source told the outlet: "TSMC's ability to stably supply 2nm process chips to fabless semiconductor customers other than Apple means that TSMC's capacity expansion and yield stabilization have improved significantly in tandem." He added that even if foundries that enter the process later manage to get a seat at the negotiating table, when it comes to actual volume allocation, it will be difficult to close the gap with TSMC.
Qualcomm Orders Are the Next Key Indicator
The next critical customer is Qualcomm. Industry sources indicate that Qualcomm plans to produce its next-generation flagship processor, the "Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6," on both 2nm and 3nm processes in the fourth quarter of this year. Samsung Electronics is aggressively pursuing the 2nm portion of those orders, with its turnkey solution integrating chip manufacturing and packaging as the main selling point.
Analysts believe that if MediaTek's Dimensity 9600 Pro can demonstrate stable volume production and performance in the market, it will help TSMC's case in securing Qualcomm's subsequent 2nm orders. However, the actual foundry allocation remains to be confirmed. Market sources indicate that Samsung and Qualcomm are still in negotiations, with pricing reportedly the main sticking point preventing an agreement.
Samsung's Catch-Up Strategy: Breaking Through with a Diversified Customer Base
Facing TSMC's dominant position in advanced processes, Samsung has not slowed its pursuit. According to South Korean media reports, Samsung Electronics is attempting to build its own ecosystem on the 2nm track by securing orders from multiple major technology customers.
Tesla is Samsung's marquee customer for the 2nm process. Samsung plans to produce Tesla's next-generation AI semiconductor, the "AI5," on its 2nm process, with pilot production and yield verification currently underway. In addition, Broadcom, the world's second-largest IC design company, has expanded its collaboration with Samsung, with both parties agreeing to pursue a strategic partnership spanning memory, foundry, and advanced packaging through 2030.
In the AI chip space, Samsung has also established partnerships with multiple companies. Samsung currently produces language processing units (LPUs) for Nvidia's "Grok 3 LPX" system on its 4nm process. Generative AI company Anthropic is also reportedly in discussions with Samsung regarding production of its in-house AI chips.
In its second-quarter earnings call this year, Samsung Electronics revealed that it has secured 2nm projects from major cloud service providers (CSPs) and AI/high-performance computing (HPC) customers, with customers already beginning product design. The company expects its number of 2nm projects to more than double this year compared with last year.
