Samsung Gains Interest from BYD, Google, AMD as AI Chip Demand Strains TSMC Capacity

Samsung Electronics is attracting growing attention from major global technology companies as demand for advanced semiconductor manufacturing continues to exceed available capacity at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), according to a report by Nikkei Asia.

The South Korean chipmaker has reportedly received an increasing number of contract chip manufacturing inquiries from companies including BYD, Google, AMD, Tesla, and other international customers seeking alternative sources for advanced semiconductor production. Industry sources cited by Nikkei said Samsung has seen a significant rise in discussions with both existing and prospective clients worldwide, including several companies based in China.

One of the most notable developments involves BYD, China’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer. The company is reportedly in talks with Samsung regarding the production of next-generation autonomous driving chips that will support future smart vehicle platforms.

Google is also exploring potential partnerships with Samsung Foundry. The technology giant is reportedly considering Samsung as a manufacturing partner for its upcoming Axion processors, which are expected to debut around 2028. In addition, Google may ask Samsung to produce a portion of its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), specialized AI chips used to power artificial intelligence workloads and data center operations.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has also held discussions with Samsung about manufacturing some of its future central processing units (CPUs), highlighting Samsung’s growing role in the competitive semiconductor industry.

The surge in customer interest comes as TSMC continues to dominate the advanced chip manufacturing market. The Taiwanese company has secured a large share of orders from leading semiconductor designers such as Nvidia, Apple, AMD, Broadcom, Marvell, and MediaTek. As a result, available cutting-edge production capacity remains limited.

Samsung, TSMC, and Intel are currently the only companies capable of producing advanced semiconductors at scale. While TSMC plans to invest tens of billions of dollars to expand manufacturing capacity in the coming years, semiconductor fabrication facilities require substantial capital investment and years to build, leaving the market facing near-term capacity constraints.

Meanwhile, Intel is also working to strengthen its foundry business and attract additional customers for its advanced chip manufacturing and packaging services as competition intensifies in the global semiconductor sector.