Samsung Gives Up on 1.4nm: TSMC Strengthens Chip Dominance

Samsung Electronics has drastically postponed mass production of its 1.4 nanometer (nm) node until 2029, a two-year delay that highlights deep manufacturing problems and cements the near-absolute dominance of Taiwanese rival TSMC.

The race to manufacture the world's smallest and most powerful semiconductors has taken a significant turn. Samsung Electronics, the South Korean tech giant and the only viable alternative to TSMC, has announced a devastating delay to its technological roadmap, postponing mass production of its advanced 1.4nm node from 2027 to 2029.

This decision, which follows a previous delay in the opening of its new plant in Taylor, Texas, until 2026, is not a simple schedule adjustment. It is an admission of the critical difficulties Samsung's foundry division faces in competing at the forefront of chip manufacturing, a sector that has become the central battleground of the US-China technological rivalry.

The reasons behind this setback are multiple and profound. Industry sources point out that Samsung has been struggling with persistent yield issues at its most advanced nodes, such as 3nm, where production rates of functional chips have been disappointingly low.

Furthermore, in benchmark tests, its chips have shown inferior performance in terms of energy efficiency compared to those manufactured by TSMC. This performance gap has had a direct commercial consequence: the inability to attract large-volume orders from the world's most coveted clients, such as Nvidia and Qualcomm, who have opted en masse for TSMC's reliability and technological superiority.

"Samsung is testing GPU performance with Nvidia, but progress is slower than TSMC's. The volume of products being tested with Qualcomm is also limited, so it's unlikely to help profitability," an industry official said.

While Samsung regroups, TSMC isn't slowing down. The Taiwanese leader already has a full order book for its 2nm process from giants like Apple, Nvidia, and AMD, and is preparing to begin mass production in 2025. Although TSMC is also cautiously moving toward future nodes like the 1.6nm and 1.4nm (dubbed A14) due to rising costs, its leadership position is undisputed.

The pressure on Samsung isn't just coming from above. On older process nodes, Chinese foundries like SMIC are aggressively competing with prices up to 30% lower, eroding margins in that market segment. Added to this is Intel, which, under its new foundry strategy, is also investing billions to catch up with Asian leaders and offer its own 1.4nm process.

Caught between the hammer of TSMC's technological superiority and the anvil of China's price competition, Samsung has been forced to recalibrate its strategy. It will now focus on optimizing its existing processes, such as the 2nm process (with improved versions like SF2P and SF2P+) and the 4nm and 5nm nodes, to try to compete on performance and with lower prices.

Samsung's delay transcends the corporate dimension; it is a geopolitical setback for the US-led semiconductor supply chain diversification strategy. The CHIPS Act, which allocates billions in subsidies to encourage production on US soil and in allied countries, was based on the premise that Samsung could offer a real alternative to TSMC.

Samsung's failure to keep pace demonstrates that money can't buy the manufacturing expertise and trusted ecosystem that TSMC has built over decades. This leaves the West even more dependent on the Taiwanese foundry, whose location is the epicenter of geopolitical tensions with China.