Samsung Eyes Meta's $6.5B 2nm ASIC Order

According to industry sources, Samsung Foundry is negotiating a contract worth approximately KRW 10 trillion (around US$6.54 billion) with Meta Platforms to manufacture the third generation of Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA) AI chips. If finalized, the agreement would support the mass production of Meta's next-generation AI accelerators designed for both training and inference workloads.

Reports indicate that Meta's first- and second-generation MTIA chips were manufactured by TSMC. For the third generation, however, Meta is reportedly working with Samsung Foundry on both the design and manufacturing of its next-generation application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), marking a significant shift in its manufacturing strategy.

The third-generation MTIA is expected to be fabricated using Samsung's advanced 2nm process technology, with large-scale production projected to reach hundreds of thousands of units. The move reflects Meta's growing investment in custom AI silicon to improve the efficiency and performance of its expanding AI infrastructure.

Although Meta operates its own AI chip design team, the company has reportedly established a collaboration framework with Samsung Electronics' System LSI Business, which specializes in semiconductor design. Industry sources suggest that Meta considers its rapid six-month chip development cycle too demanding to rely solely on internal engineering resources, making external design collaboration increasingly important.

Samsung Electronics is emerging as a key manufacturing partner for global technology companies developing proprietary AI chips, including Meta, Tesla, and Anthropic. As demand for custom AI ASICs continues to accelerate, Samsung's long-term foundry order backlog is reportedly approaching KRW 50 trillion (approximately US$32.7 billion).

If the deal is completed, it would rank among Samsung Foundry's largest AI semiconductor contracts to date, further strengthening its position in the rapidly expanding AI chip market. The agreement would also highlight intensifying competition between Samsung Foundry and TSMC as major technology companies diversify their manufacturing partnerships to secure advanced semiconductor capacity amid surging demand for AI accelerators and leading-edge process technologies.