The Exynos 2600 has been confirmed by Samsung to be the company's first 2nm GAA chipset, and only recently, it was reported that mass production of the flagship SoC had commenced. The Korean foundry will want nothing more than to minimize its losses and boost yields so it can manufacture its in-house silicon at scale, while proving to the industry that it can stand 'toe to toe' with TSMC in the leading-edge race. To help the company realize its goals, a report claims that Samsung is bringing more high-NA EUV machinery from ASML and adding this equipment to its local production. While this paraphernalia will be ludicrously expensive, it should give the company the necessary advantage.
At more than $400 million apiece, ASML's high-NA EUV machines will require loaded pockets, which may explain why TSMC is also unsure if it wants to upgrade to these because its current equipment is more than capable of transitioning to 1.4nm production. According to Fnnews, Samsung's motivation for investing a gargantuan sum of money in this equipment is to help obtain an edge in 2nm GAA production. A few months ago, we reported that the Korean giant's yields on this aforementioned lithography while carrying out test runs for the Exynos 2600 were 30 percent.
Bear in mind that to make mass production financially viable, that number needs to be at least 70 percent, so the procurement of these high-NA EUV machinery could help Samsung achieve that goal because ASML's cutting-edge tools help to implement ultra-fine circuits of the 2nm GAA process. However, even if the company had access to near-limitless funds, it cannot order as many units as it pleases because ASML has put a limitation on how many it can sell. According to the report, the Dutch manufacturer can only produce between five and six machines annually, with even these units being subject to export controls by the government.
At this time, we believe that Samsung will leverage its 2nm GAA technology exclusively for the Exynos 2600. Sure, it has completed the basic design for the second-generation 2nm GAA node, but it could take several months for potential customers to believe that Samsung can become a viable semiconductor partner once more.