Latest news with #Exynos
India Gazette
a day ago
- Business
- India Gazette
Experts speculate Samsung's spinoff of foundry business will boost trust and competitiveness, Samsung says it's too early
ANI 30 May 2025, 13:39 GMT+10 New Delhi [India], May 30 (ANI): Samsung Electronics is likely to spin off its foundry business from the broader semiconductor division, on the same conflict of interest that separated Samsung Biologics from its biosimilar business and contract drug manufacturing, reports the Korea Device Solution (DS) division consists of memory chips, its foundry business (which manufactures chips for other companies), and System LSI (which designs logic chips, including Samsung's Exynos processors). This dual role as both a designer and manufacturer has sparked worries about potential technology leakage to competitors who rely on Samsung's foundry services, such as Nvidia and Qualcomm.'Trust is critical in the foundry business,' an anonymous industry source told The Korea Herald. 'For fabless companies... there's always concern that sensitive design data could be exposed to competitors. Spinning off the foundry business would reduce these risks and make Samsung more competitive.'According to market experts, Samsung plans to take out its foundry unit, arguing that organisational independence would help the company respond quickly to clients' demands and scale faster to keep up with technological many argue that now is not the right time. Lee Jong-hwan, a system semiconductor engineering professor at Sangmyung University, noted that while a spinoff mirroring TSMC's specialisation would be ideal in principle, the currently loss-making foundry isn't in a position for such a move. 'The company must first return to profitability and then consider a spinoff when it's ready. It's too early for now,' he week, the biotech arm of Samsung Group, Samsung Biologics, also announced its spin-off off its biosimilar operations into a new holding company, separating them from its contract development and manufacturing organisation business to sharpen the strategic focus of each unit.'A similar conflict of interest conundrum has long weighed on Samsung Electronics' Device Solution division, which houses three distinct yet interconnected semiconductor operations under one roof: memory chips, foundry and System LSI. While the foundry manufactures chips for fabless companies, System LSI is responsible for designing logic chips, including Samsung's own Exynos,' Korea Herald said. (ANI)
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
Spinoff or stay? Samsung's foundry dilemma back in spotlight
Experts say spinning off lackluster foundry could boost trust, competitiveness, but Samsung says it's too early Samsung Electronics is again facing speculations that it may spin off its foundry business from the broader semiconductor division, amid concerns over the same conflicts of interest that drove Samsung Biologics to split its biosimilar business and contract drug manufacturing. Last week, Samsung Biologics, the biotech arm of Samsung Group, announced it will spin off its biosimilar subsidiary Samsung Bioepis into an independent entity. Once the deal is completed, Samsung Biologics will only retain its contract development and manufacturing organization, a strategic move aimed to address growing customer and investor concerns about potential conflicts of interest in its competing business lines. A similar conflict of interest conundrum has long weighed on Samsung Electronics' Device Solution division, which houses three distinct yet interconnected semiconductor operations under one roof: memory chips, foundry and System LSI. While the foundry manufactures chips for fabless companies, System LSI is responsible for designing logic chips, including Samsung's own Exynos. This dual role as both a chip designer and a manufacturer has raised concerns over possible technology leakage and inherent conflicts of interest for years. 'Trust is critical in the foundry business," said an industry source who requested anonymity. "For fabless companies like Nvidia and Qualcomm that don't manufacture their own chips and rely on foundries, there's always concern that sensitive design data could be exposed to competitors. Spinning off the foundry business would reduce these risks and make Samsung more competitive." Growing calls for spinoff Many market analysts have been calling on Samsung to carve out its foundry unit, arguing that organizational independence would help the company respond quickly to clients' demands and scale faster to keep up with technological advancement. Even the conglomerate's financial subsidiary Samsung Securities, recommended that Samsung spin off the foundry and list on the US market in a 2022 report. The broader semiconductor industry is also moving away from integrated device manufacturer models like Samsung -- where a single company handles both chip design and manufacturing -- toward a more specialized structure such as a fabless-foundry partnership. A fellow IDM Intel is also reportedly exploring a similar path, considering spinning off its foundry unit, potentially as a joint venture with TSMC. Another factor driving the spinoff discussion is financial. Analysts say Samsung's underperforming foundry unit is dragging down Samsung Electronics' bottom line. In the first quarter of 2025, Samsung's DS division reported revenue of 25.1 trillion won ($18.17 billion) and an operating profit of 1.1 trillion won, down 42 percent on-year and marked the third consecutive quarter of decline. This figure falls far short of the 7 trillion won profit posted by smaller chipmaking rival SK hynix posted during the same period. While Samsung does not disclose performance by specific business unit, industry sources estimated that memory chip operations posted around 3 trillion won in operating profit, which was offset by 2 trillion won losses in System LSI and foundry. This sluggish performance of its non-memory chip units strengthens the argument for a spinoff, yet paradoxically, this same weakness makes near-term divestiture less feasible. Too early to split? 'In principle, Samsung's spinoff would be ideal, similar to TSMC, whose specialization in foundry services has earned trust from customers,' said Lee Jong-hwan, a system semiconductor engineering professor at Sangmyung University. 'But right now, Samsung foundry remains in the red, and splitting off under these conditions would be meaningless. The company must first return to profitability and then consider a spinoff when it's ready. It's too early for now." Given the capital-intensive nature of the foundry business, any separation would require a stable revenue stream and securing major clients, both of which Samsung currently lacks, observers say. If Samsung were to spin off its foundry unit, it would lose key advantages of operating under the umbrella of Samsung Electronics. Despite continued losses, the foundry has managed to stay afloat and conduct large-scale investments, largely due to the tech giant's strong earnings from its memory and consumer electronics businesses, including smartphones. Amid growing speculation, Samsung is not considering a spinoff of its foundry unit at this time, according to a source familiar with the matter. Even Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong appears reluctant on the idea. 'We are hungry to grow the business. Not interested in spinning (them) off,' Lee told Reuters last October in the Philippines, when asked whether the tech giant is considering spinning off the foundry. Professor Lee noted that Samsung envisions becoming a successful IDM capable of excelling in both memory and non-memory. In an era where AI chips are reshaping the semiconductor industry, Samsung could gain a competitive edge if it can develop and produce AI critical high-bandwidth memory chips entirely in-house. "Samsung first needs approval from Nvidia for its HBM chips to become a trusted AI chip supplier," said Professor Lee. "If that happens everything changes. But until then, the priority is profitability. Only after that can a spinoff or any kind of restructuring make strategic sense."
Phone Arena
2 days ago
- Business
- Phone Arena
A cheaper Galaxy Tab S10 is really coming soon
Although Samsung is expected to launch a new lineup of tablets in just a few months, the Galaxy Tab S10 series is going to get one last member, possibly slightly earlier. Last month there was a rumor about a cheaper Galaxy Tab S10 tablet that would be equipped with Samsung's Exynos 1380 chipset. No other details were available at that time, but it looks like the tablet really exists and is very close to being introduced. The unannounced Galaxy Tab S10 Lite has been recently spotted on Geekbench's website. Even though it's not listed as Galaxy Tab S10 Lite, there are a couple of clues that give its name away. First of all, the codename for the Galaxy Tab S10 Lite is SM-X406B. Secondly, the 'X' letter is often used in the model number of the Galaxy Tab S family. Lastly, it's powered by an Exynos 1380 chipset, just like the previous rumor claimed. The Exynos 1380 chipset is complemented by a Mali-G68 GPU (graphics processing unit) and 6GB of RAM. Unsurprisingly, the tablet will ship with Android 15 but is expected to receive major OS updates for several years. Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Lite listing on Geekbench | Screenshot by Xpertpick Samsung is rumored to launch two Galaxy Tab S10 Lite models – Wi-Fi and LTE, but this hasn't been confirmed yet, so take it with a grain of salt. This will be the cheapest tablet in the Galaxy Tab S10 lineup, and probably the last since Samsung is preparing to launch new models this fall. This year Samsung decided to skip the vanilla Galaxy Tab S10 and only release Plus and Ultra models. The Galaxy Tab S10 Lite would be the third model of the family that Samsung launches on the market. Meanwhile, at least two Galaxy Tab S11 tablets are expected to arrive this year, the Galaxy Tab S11 and Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra. Both are rumored to pack MediaTek's Dimensity 9400 processor, which is a bit unfortunate considering that these will compete with some of the best tablets Apple iPads. It's not really about performance, but the people's perception when it comes to MediaTek and Qualcomm brands. It remains to be seen whether or not Samsung will manage to poach any Apple fans with its new high-end Galaxy Tab S11 tablets.
Phone Arena
3 days ago
- Business
- Phone Arena
Galaxy Z Flip 7 could be Samsung's first foldable with dual chip strategy, but US users will still get the better deal
Galaxy Z Flip 7 Snapdragon 8 Elite stays exclusive to North America A bigger return for Exynos—and more splits on the horizon Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus units in Europe and 'other global markets' will likely use the Exynos 2600, while Snapdragon chips will be reserved for North America, Korea, China, and Japan. The Galaxy S26 Ultra, like the Fold 7 , will reportedly stick with a Snapdragon chipset globally — likely the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2. Receive the latest Samsung news Subscribe By subscribing you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy As for Samsung's foldables, two flip-style models are expected this year: the flagship Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the more affordable Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE. The former is rumored to get the new Exynos 2500 outside the U.S., while the FE model is expected to reuse the Exynos 2400 found in the For the average user, this complex chip strategy probably won't matter. However, historically, Snapdragon-powered Galaxy models have been favored in enthusiast circles due to better efficiency, performance, and app compatibility. But who knows, Samsung's 3nm process and updated Exynos cores might be aiming to change that narrative this cycle. andPlus units in Europe and 'other global markets' will likely use the Exynos 2600, while Snapdragon chips will be reserved for North America, Korea, China, and Japan. TheUltra, like the, will reportedly stick with a Snapdragon chipset globally — likely the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen for Samsung's foldables, two flip-style models are expected this year: the flagshipand the more affordableFE. The former is rumored to get the new Exynos 2500 outside the U.S., while the FE model is expected to reuse the Exynos 2400 found in the Galaxy S24 and S24 the average user, this complex chip strategy probably won't matter. However, historically, Snapdragon-powered Galaxy models have been favored in enthusiast circles due to better efficiency, performance, and app compatibility. But who knows, Samsung's 3nm process and updated Exynos cores might be aiming to change that narrative this cycle. Samsung may be returning to an old strategy with its next flip phone. A new report out of South Korea claims thewill use Samsung's in-house Exynos chip in its home market, but the U.S. model will still rely on Qualcomm's latest to Hankung , the Galaxy Z Flip 7 will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite in North America, including the U.S., while the Exynos 2500 is expected to power units sold in South Korea. This appears to confirm earlier speculation that Samsung would be bringing Exynos chips to its foldables for the first this Exynos/Snapdragon split will not apply to the Galaxy Z Fold 7 . That model is still expected to ship globally with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, following the same pattern as the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Fold 6 The Hankyung report aligns with a recent report we covered, according to which, Samsung plans to bring back the Exynos vs Snapdragon split for the Galaxy S26 series as well.
GSM Arena
3 days ago
- Business
- GSM Arena
A merger between Samsung's LSI and Foundry divisions is getting increasingly likely
Samsung's chip-manufacturing business isn't doing great, and poor yield is partially to blame. Even the Galaxy S25 series switched entirely to Snapdragon this year. Though the Exynos will return to the S26 series if the rumors are correct. The issues with Samsung's LSI (the chip design arm) run so deep that reports suggest a merger between Samsung LSI and another division, most likely Foundry. The initial rumors suggest that Samsung is planning to merge Samsung MX (Mobile Experience) and LSI, but the latest development is pointing to a Foundry-LSI merger instead. A South Korean news outlet says that during an internal meeting at the company, three possible scenarios were discussed - merge LSI into MX, merge LSI into Foundry or massively restructure LSI. According to people familiar with the matter, a merger with Foundry was favored, but no final decision has been made. It's interesting to note that LSI and Foundry were once under the Samsung DS (Device Solutions) division, but they were separated back in 2017 to reduce the chances of conflict of interest with other Samsung Foundry clients like Nvidia and Qualcomm. Source
