[News] Samsung Reportedly in Talks for Google 2nm TPU I/O Die Order; 2028 Mass Production Eyed

Google is reportedly considering Samsung for part of its next-generation AI processor production. According to Business Korea, citing The Information, the company is discussing plans to have Samsung Foundry manufacture key components for its 10th-generation Tensor Processing Unit (TPU). Under the proposed arrangement, TSMC would likely produce the main compute die on its 1.4nm node, while Samsung would fabricate a 2nm memory I/O die, a critical component that connects the processor to HBM.

Landing the order would be a major boost for Samsung’s foundry business, Reuters notes. The report says Google is developing the “Icefish” TPU with MediaTek, with mass production potentially beginning as early as 2028. Reuters also notes that Google is evaluating Samsung as part of efforts to diversify beyond TSMC, whose capacity constraints are increasingly viewed as a potential industry bottleneck. The Information adds that Google is also reportedly in talks with Intel to produce more than three million TPUs in 2028.

HBM Expertise May Strengthen Samsung’s Bid

Business Korea further notes that Google’s interest in Samsung may reflect the company’s leadership in memory technologies, including HBM. As noted by The Korea Herald, Samsung already supplies the HBM used in Google’s TPUs. The report also raises the possibility of a broader Samsung role, with its memory division supplying HBM, its foundry business manufacturing the I/O die, and its packaging unit handling the advanced packaging needed to integrate the chip with the main processor.

ETNews adds that Samsung’s Taylor fab in Texas is being discussed as a potential production site. The project is drawing attention as a possible turnkey opportunity spanning memory, foundry, and packaging services while supporting the expansion of HBM supply.

Samsung has recently secured a string of major chip orders. According to Business Korea, the company won a US$16.5 billion (about KRW 25 trillion) contract last year to manufacture Tesla’s next-generation AI6 chips and is also producing Groq’s language processing units (LPUs) for deployment on NVIDIA platforms.

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(Photo credit: Samsung)