Samsung is currently the fourth largest player
In what can be seen as an effort to change its fortunes in the foundry market, Samsung has reportedly set up an R&D division for its foundry business. The news comes from a report which cites industry sources aware of the proceedings. Worth billions of dollars, the foundry business involves fabricating chip designs of companies who don’t have a semiconductor fabrication plant.
The Korean company is currently the fourth largest player in the global foundry business and is aiming to catch up with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) placed at the top. The R&D division is reportedly under the device solution arm of Samsung and is focused on augmenting company’s capabilities in the foundry business. The new research unit joins memory, system LSI, semiconductor, production technology, display centers, and other research centers under the device solution wing.
“Samsung recently launched various efforts to make inroads deeper into the foundry business, also kicking off the Samsung Advanced Foundry Ecosystem program earlier this year for foundry-related clients,” says an industry watcher in the report.
