AMD and Samsung Foundry in talks to build 2 nm CPUs by 2026

AMD may become Samsung Foundry’s next major client, joining Tesla and Apple, which have already signed multi-billion-dollar deals with the Korean company. According to South Korean media, AMD and Samsung are in the final stages of talks to manufacture processors on a 2 nm process that AMD needs for its next generation of CPUs.

Samsung previously struggled to attract customers to its 3 nm node as much of the industry rallied around TSMC. That picture has shifted with progress on 2 nm technology, which reportedly reassured several key market players. Tesla has already signed a contract with Samsung worth more than $16 billion, and Apple has confirmed that Samsung will produce chips, including for future iPhones, at a plant in Texas. Together, these moves point to growing confidence in Samsung’s roadmap.

As one of the leading processor designers, AMD does not operate its own fabs and traditionally relies on external foundries. TSMC remains the world’s largest contract manufacturer, but its capacity is now close to fully booked, making Samsung the only realistic alternative for large orders on cutting-edge nodes. In that context, exploring Samsung as an option looks like a pragmatic step.

According to a leak, Samsung Foundry is preparing a plan to produce AMD’s 2 nm processors using its SF2P technology. Production may be organized through multi-project wafers, where chips from several companies share a single wafer—an approach that helps use manufacturing resources more efficiently in the early stages of a new node.

Sources say AMD and Samsung aim to finalize the agreement by January 2026. If the deal goes through, production volumes could be significant, helping Samsung narrow its technological and market gap with TSMC. With the Taiwanese rival’s capacity constrained, Samsung Foundry finds itself in a favorable position to capture a slice of the industry’s largest orders. For now, the timing appears to be on Samsung’s side.