Samsung Reportedly Hits 50% Yield On 2nm GAA, Shifts Partner Messaging Toward SF2P Second Generation Node
Samsung Foundry is reportedly holding around 50% yield on its 2nm GAA process, a milestone that signals steadier execution than the company’s earlier 3nm GAA ramp and a potentially more credible runway for customer confidence. According to a new ZDNet Korea report, Samsung has also issued new guidelines to its Design Solution Partners to actively promote SF2P, the company’s second generation 2nm GAA node, rather than the first generation SF2, indicating a strategic pivot toward the process variant Samsung believes can carry broader commercial momentum.
The report frames the 50% yield figure as meaningful progress in context. Samsung’s 3nm GAA was widely viewed as a difficult ramp where yields struggled to move beyond the 30% threshold, limiting the company’s ability to secure major external customers at scale. Even if 50% is not yet the kind of yield level that screams mass scale comfort for high volume flagship designs, it represents a more stable baseline for further optimization, and it aligns with Samsung’s earlier stated target of pushing yields toward 70% as the node matures.
What makes this update particularly strategic is the way Samsung appears to be steering the ecosystem narrative. The report says Design Solution Partners have been told to prioritize SF2P promotion, not SF2, which implies resource allocation and go to market energy are now being concentrated on the second generation process. SF2P is positioned as offering improvements over SF2, and the report suggests Samsung is accelerating development and enablement work so partners can market a clearer and more polished value proposition to customers who are currently cautious about switching foundries at the bleeding edge.
The roadmap details in the report also point to a layered 2nm family strategy. Samsung reportedly completed the basic design of SF2P, with a third generation 2nm GAA node referred to as SF2P+ expected within roughly 2 years. The report adds that the basic process design kit was completed around mid 2025, which matters because PDK readiness is the real gate for partner enablement, customer design starts, and toolchain stability.
On the product side, the report links SF2P to future silicon plans, including expectations that SF2P could be used for a next generation Exynos platform and support newer standards like LPDDR6 and UFS 5.0. It also claims Tesla AI6 may be produced on SF2P and references a large 16.5B$ deal. Separately, the report mentions 2 Chinese crypto mining equipment makers, MicroBT and Canaan, placing 2nm GAA orders with Samsung, which would indicate early demand signals that go beyond internal Samsung mobile priorities.
The larger industry takeaway is that Samsung is trying to convert a yield milestone into an ecosystem reset. Foundry competition at 2nm is not just about transistor design, it is about credibility. That means predictable yields, partner readiness, validated flows, stable IP libraries, and customer trust that timelines will not slip. Samsung moving DSP messaging toward SF2P suggests it wants the market to associate its 2nm story with the improved node variant as soon as possible, while continuing incremental yield gains in parallel.
If Samsung can push yields upward from 50% toward the 70% range while keeping SF2P enablement tight, it creates a realistic path to win more spillover demand when customers cannot secure enough capacity elsewhere. The catch is execution speed and consistency, because at advanced nodes, perception changes only when shipment reality backs it up.
What would convince you that Samsung Foundry is truly back in contention at leading edge nodes, consistent yield gains, a major flagship external customer, or clear proof of stable high volume production?
