Intel outsourcing will expand foundry market: Samsung

Samsung Electronics on Thursday commented for the first time on Intel’s decision to outsource more of its chipmaking, but declined to talk about any possible partnership with one its key rivals.

Intel, one of the few remaining firms that both designs and makes its own chips, said last week it would lean more heavily on outside factories, or foundry manufacturers, and could even licence technology from outside firms.

Samsung, the top maker of memory chips, and TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chip manufacturer, are considered Intel’s only competitors for high-end chips.

“We do think that Intel’s decision to outsource – from the entire foundry market perspective – will lead to increasing overall foundry market size,” Shawn Han, senior vice president of Samsung’s foundry business, told a post-earnings call.