SAMSUNG RAISES ADVANCED CHIPMAKING PRICES ON AI DEMAND

Developing story: Pricing, capacity, customer allocation and foundry-market share may change as Samsung, TSMC and AI-chip customers adjust production plans.

Samsung Electronics has raised prices for some advanced contract chipmaking services by up to 15 percent for new orders as demand for artificial intelligence chips tightens capacity, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter. The increases mark a turnaround for a foundry business that has struggled for years against Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

The price hikes apply to some chips made using Samsung’s 4-nanometer process, known as SF4, Reuters reported. Chinese and U.S. customers face increases of 10 percent to 15 percent from the previous month, according to the sources. Samsung’s SF4 line at its Pyeongtaek plant has been running at full capacity since late last year, one source said.

The move shows how AI demand is rippling through semiconductor supply chains beyond the most visible Nvidia and memory-chip stories. AI systems require processors, custom accelerators, networking chips and supporting silicon, all of which must be manufactured at foundries with limited advanced-node capacity.

Chinese demand is especially important. Reuters reported that Chinese customers were among those accepting the steepest price increases, underscoring how U.S. curbs on advanced chipmaking equipment exports to China have increased reliance on overseas foundries. That makes Samsung’s capacity commercially valuable and geopolitically sensitive at the same time.

Samsung’s foundry division has been a loss maker since 2022, according to industry estimates cited by Reuters, even as the wider company benefited from soaring prices for memory chips used in AI systems. Higher foundry pricing could help narrow losses if demand remains strong and customers accept the new terms.

The company still faces a difficult competitive landscape. TSMC remains the dominant advanced foundry, and Samsung has had to convince customers that its process technology, yields and capacity can meet demanding requirements. A shortage-driven price increase is not the same as a permanent shift in market share.

For AI customers, higher foundry prices add another cost to an already capital-intensive buildout. Data centers, power systems, advanced packaging, memory and chip fabrication are all becoming more expensive as demand accelerates. Those costs may eventually show up in cloud pricing, hardware margins or investor expectations for AI returns.

What is confirmed is that Reuters reported Samsung raised some advanced foundry prices by up to 15 percent as SF4 capacity tightened. What remains unresolved is whether the increases hold, whether customers shift orders to competitors and whether AI demand remains strong enough to sustain a broader foundry recovery.

Fact-check date: August 19, 2026. Article type: News. Sources: Reuters; Samsung Electronics; Counterpoint Research. Developing note: Pricing, capacity, customer allocation and foundry-market share may change as Samsung, TSMC and AI-chip customers adjust production plans.