Industry insiders: TSMC has obtained 3nm order commitments from several chip suppliers

On August 19, according to DIGITIMES, sources from IC Design revealed that TSMC continued to obtain 3nm chip order commitments from suppliers such as Apple and Intel, despite the active competition of rival Samsung Electronics for 3nm chip orders.

Samsung is trying to expand its 3nm customer portfolio, but has not made significant progress, according to sources. For TSMC's 3nm customers, transferring orders from TSMC can be costly.

TSMC's 3nm process will still use FinFET transistor structure, while Samsung's 3nm node will use GAA transistor architecture. Samsung is even ahead of TSMC, turning 3nm technology to mass production.

However, sources pointed out that AMD, Apple, Broadcom, Intel, MediaTek, Nvidia and Qualcomm and other manufacturers have placed orders for 3nm chips to TSMC. But Samsung's 3nm GAA process has yet to attract orders from major chip suppliers.

Qualcomm is seen as the most likely customer for Samsung 3nm GAA technology, given the fabless supplier's diversification strategy and other considerations about its business with Samsung's mobile division, the source said.