Samsung Electronics is reportedly averaging a yield of approximately 55% on its 2-nanometer chip manufacturing process, which falls short of the 60% threshold needed for stable mass production. This assessment highlights the challenges the company faces in attracting major chip designers.
Industry insiders indicated that the yield currently lies within the 50–60% range, with one stating that “the process is running, but it is still a long way from a stable mass production phase.” The effective yield, after considering backend packaging losses and performance binning, drops to around 40%, meaning nearly half of all produced wafers are discarded as defective.
Cutting-edge wafers cost tens of millions of Korean won each, making even minor yield improvements significant, with potential profit changes in the hundreds of billions of won. This financial impact hampers Samsung’s competitiveness against TSMC, which has achieved 2nm yields between 70% and 80% since commencing mass production in late 2025.
Despite these challenges, Samsung has made notable progress. Yields that were around 20% in the second half of 2025 have improved to the mid-50s within a year. This improvement was partially driven by orders for bitcoin mining chips from Chinese companies Canaan and MicroBT, enhancing Samsung’s operational experience.
However, this progress has not yet attracted significant fabless customers away from TSMC, which reportedly has its 2nm order book filled through 2028 with companies like Nvidia, Apple, AMD, and Qualcomm. Samsung’s most significant contract is a $16.5 billion deal with Tesla to produce the AI6 chip.
Mass production of Tesla’s chips is targeted for the second half of 2027, but this timeline has already been delayed by about six months due to issues related to process maturity. At a recent annual meeting, Samsung’s foundry chief Han Jin-man acknowledged the need for continued collaboration with major companies to build order experience and secure yield improvements.
