Samsung Foundry has won the contract to produce Qualcomm’s 5nm 5G X60 Modem, according to Reuters on Tuesday. It would mark an important win against leading foundry TSMC.
Reuters reported based on two sources familiar with the matter. Samsung would produce “at least some” of Qualcomm’s X60 5G modem. In the case, it could be similar to how Nvidia is also reportedly going to source some 7nm GPU production to Samsung.
Qualcomm announced its 5nm X60 5G modem on Tuesday. It will be featured in phones in 2021, including Apple’s iPhones.
Both Samsung and TSMC plan to start 5nm volume production this year. TSMC is the leading contract chip manufacturer, with 53% market share in the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to Samsung’s 17.8%, according to data from TrendForce. Samsung last year revealed major investment plans in R&D and fabs in the coming decade.
