Rumor: AMD Considering Samsung for Additional APU/GPU Production

[Tsing]

Image: AMD



AMD is reportedly considering tapping Samsung to manufacture some of its future APUs and/or GPUs. The rumor comes from an established leaker on South Korea’s CLIEN forum, who noted that red team is eager to secure additional production volume beyond what TSMC can provide. Considering all of those reports about Apple buying up tons of capacity, there might be some truth behind this one.



“Currently, AMD wants to increase production capacity 50 percent or more, but increasing capacity is difficult for TSMC,” reads a machine translation of the leaker’s post shared by harukaze5719. “So, there is a rumor AMD is considering to dualize some of APU/GPU lines to Samsung internally.”



“TSMC is not dealing only with AMD, but big customer...

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[THUMPer]

i mean yeah why not?

 

[Uvilla]

Sure. When China feels like the relationship with US is broken enough, and they start bombing Taiwan, yeah you better have other contracts to depend on.

 

[Grimlakin]

Would.tjst save them on the additional Chinese tariff costs as well?

 

[Denpepe]

i mean yeah why not?

Supposedly because they can't even keep up with demand from Nvidia alone.

 

[Armenius]

Would.tjst save them on the additional Chinese tariff costs as well?

No because the manufacturing and assembly still happens in China even though the components are made in South Korea.

 

[LazyGamer]

No because the manufacturing and assembly still happens in China even though the components are made in South Korea.

Much of that can be done elsewhere, I'd think. I know that there are other complicated steps after fabrication but since those are also done elsewhere, it'd be mostly a matter of startup time and costs?

Sure. When China feels like the relationship with US is broken enough, and they start bombing Taiwan, yeah you better have other contracts to depend on.

Pretty sure this is on every Taiwanese vendor's plate right now. China already owned Hong Kong, so rolled in unopposed, and as 'bad' as that's been, it's going to be nothing like their subjugation of Taiwan. It's going to get messy, and they know it.

Supposedly because they can't even keep up with demand from Nvidia alone.

There was another thread with talk about Samsung putting a fab in Austin Texas. And that's probably as good idea as any really. Would be more interesting to see an effort to replicate the 'open fab' concept that TSMC among others has used to great effect here in the States. Or Canada or Mexico, even, just so that it's in North America and generally under the US military umbrella and with access to resources on the continent.

Would.tjst save them on the additional Chinese tariff costs as well?

Eh, the trouble that those caused was largely around Taiwanese companies pushing manufacturing to the mainland. That gets taxed. Most responded by making efforts to move work back to Taiwan. Which of course costs more and involves production interruptions and duplication of effort, so costs even more... but let's just say that it's been made quite clear to Taiwanese businesses that using China for anything other than the cheapest / lowest-level labor will start to cost them more in the future.

Overall I'm someone surprised that they haven't started up satellite assembly lines around the world. Local labor in low-income zones, automated labor in higher-income zones like North America, but at least have all the basics figured out and a plan in place for all of the different kinds of sideways this situation can go!