Samsung Electronics Co LtdOpenAI is turning to Samsung for next-generation AI chip production, joint production and research, a concrete new foundry/packaging order win.
OpenAI is diversifying its custom AI chip manufacturing away from TSMC toward Samsung Electronics, according to Harrison Kim, General Manager of OpenAI Korea, who said at a Seoul press conference on September 9, 2026 that joint production and research with Samsung on next-generation chips has been one of the areas of greatest progress and recognition. The move extends beyond OpenAI's initial reliance on TSMC for its custom AI silicon, including the Jalapeno chip co-designed with Broadcom, as the company seeks to hedge against capacity constraints and geopolitical risk. Samsung's appeal lies in vertical integration spanning memory, foundry services and advanced packaging, underscored by a Samsung-Broadcom $200 billion MOU signed in July 2026 covering foundry, memory and packaging through 2030, alongside OpenAI's existing role as a strategic memory partner for the Stargate data center initiative. The central obstacle is yield: Samsung's 2nm process is reportedly yielding between 50% and 60%, versus TSMC's consistent yields above 80%, a 20-30% deficit that represents a significant operational cost for OpenAI's large-scale model training. Samsung's Taylor, Texas fab is targeting risk production in the second half of 2026, with mass production potentially slipping into early 2027, and the partnership's success will hinge on whether Samsung can stabilize yields, backed by its $73.24 billion 2026 semiconductor investment, before OpenAI's next-generation compute needs outpace supply.
Samsung Electronics Co LtdOpenAI is turning to Samsung for next-generation AI chip production, joint production and research, a concrete new foundry/packaging order win.
Broadcom IncBroadcom's Jalapeno co-design with OpenAI is noted as context, but the news is about OpenAI diversifying away from TSMC toward Samsung, not a Broadcom-specific development.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.OpenAI is diversifying its custom AI chip manufacturing away from TSMC toward Samsung, threatening TSMC's foundry share.
Samsung Electronics Co LtdOpenAI is turning to Samsung for next-generation AI chip production, joint production and research, a concrete new foundry/packaging order win.
OpenAI is hedging capacity constraints and geopolitical risk by adding Samsung, but Samsung's 2nm yields of 50-60% versus TSMC's 80%+ pose a significant operational cost.