Intel and Samsung, two of the world’s most recognizable tech brands, may be forming a new alliance to better compete against TSMC, the undisputed leader in the foundry industry, according to a new report out of South Korea that explains how Pat Gelsinger, Intel’s CEO, is planning to meet Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong to discuss “comprehensive collaboration in the foundry sector.” The news comes several weeks after industry outlets reported that TSMC had reached a dominant market share of 62.3% thanks to its advanced processes, while Samsung only has an 11.5% market share. Intel Foundry, which Intel describes as a “world-first approach to full stack solution support for accelerated time to market,” is seemingly failing to attract enough customers.
Samsung Electronics has the technology called ‘3nm GAA (Gate All Around)’ that increases performance and power efficiency in fine processes, and Intel has the technology called Foveros that can combine chips produced in different processes into a single package and PowerVia that can increase power efficiency. This is an area where they can jointly develop artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, and mobile APs (application processors) where high performance and low power design are important.