Intel and Samsung Explore Collaboration

As South Korean media unanimously report, Samsung will intensify its cooperation with Intel in the future. US President Biden is mentioned as the mediator, he was last in South Korea and also visited a Samsung factory. Samsung’s boss met with Intel’s CEO on Monday.

According to the company, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and de facto boss Lee Jae-yong met with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger to explore the partnership between the two companies. Exact details are not yet known, but expectations are now skyrocketing as to whether collaboration is possible in the highly competitive market for the semiconductor industry. During his visit a few weeks ago, US President Biden pointed to possible bilateral cooperation after visiting one of Samsung’s most modern factories in Pyeongtaek.

Noisy Korea Herald Many high-level executives were involved, from Samsung’s memory division to Intel’s CPU division and the foundry business that both companies have in their plans. TheKoreaTimes cites exploring potential collaborations in next-gen memory, factory-free manufacturing, systems semiconductors, and the foundry business as a starting point for discussion.

Both companies are (wood-cutting) giants

On paper, Samsung and Intel are #1 and #2 in the semiconductor industry, each with annual sales of approximately $80 billion. But in some subareas, they are coming under pressure or were barely present until now. Samsung is challenged in the memory business by new technologies and rapid adaptation, for example at Micron, and is fighting against the supremacy of TSMC with its own production and the foundry. Intel’s manufacturing problems of recent years have impacted almost every area, especially the processors, the foundry business failed miserably a few years ago.

However, with huge investments, both companies confirm their will to stay ahead. After all, one also benefits from the success of the other: Intel’s CPUs and other products cannot run without Samsung’s memory chips – and vice versa. This is exactly where the collaboration should start, because for example DDR5 and LPDDR5X are still at the beginning of their lives, but LPDDR6X and DDR6 as the next generation are already on the horizon and development there has already started.