Qualcomm Set to Turn to Samsung for AP Chips

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon suggested to reporters at CES in Las Vegas that it will turn to Samsung’s foundry unit to produce its next-generation mobile application processors (APs). TSMC recently made those chips.

Amon said it held discussions with Samsung on contract production using the latest 2nm process, adding that it had completed the design work with the goal of commercialization soon. This is the first time Qualcomm has revealed plans to turn to Samsung for next-generation AP production.

In April, Samsung was finalizing an AP deal with the US chip company. A win would mark its first Qualcomm smartphone AP order in three years. Samsung would only win some of Qualcomm’s next-gen AP business, with TSMC to produce the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 using its 3nm process.

Samsung’s foundry business, after struggling in 2024 with technical issues and low yields, turned its operations around and lined up major contracts in 2025. In August, it secured a KRW22.8 trillion ($15.8 billion) contract running to end-2033 to supply 2nm AI chips to Tesla. It also signed smaller contracts with a global tech company for AI and HPC chips.