Qualcomm May Return to Samsung Foundry After Five Years for Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6

Qualcomm's CEO Cristiano Amon landed in Seoul on Monday to have a closing round of discussion with Samsung Foundry. According to a report from South Korean outlet KED Global, the meeting was with Han Jin-man, who is the president of Samsung's Foundry Business Division and the discussion is about manufacturing the next flagship Snapdragon chip on Samsung's 2nm node.

Samsung is Back in the Race for Qualcomm's Flagship Chips

It appears Qualcomm is considering using Samsung Foundry to manufacture the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chips on Samsung's 2nd-gen 2nm node, also known as SF2. Recently, reliable tipster Digital Chat Station (DCS) revealed that the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 will also be fabricated on the 2nm node, but didn't reveal the foundry name.

Amon had already confirmed at CES 2026 that design work for the 2nm Snapdragon chip was almost complete and Samsung was being considered as a partner. Now, the Seoul trip looks like negotiations are moving forward.

It the deal happens, Qualcomm will be returning to Samsung Foundry after almost five years. The relationship between Qualcomm and Samsung broke down in 2022 after Samsung's 4nm node delivered a dismal 35% yield on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, leading to worse thermals and heating issues. Since then, Qualcomm opted for TSMC for every flagship chip.

Now, why is Qualcomm going back to Samsung, especially when Samsung's latest Exynos 2600 -- fabricated on Samsung's 1st-gen 2nm node -- is behind the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which is fabricated on TSMC's 3nm node?

It's because Samsung's 2nd-gen 2nm yields and thermals have reportedly improved and it's enough to rebuild trust. In addition, TSMC's 2nm wafer pricing is quite high and Qualcomm wants to look for an alternative.

That said, it's unclear whether Samsung will fabricate the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 or the more powerful Pro variant. I think Qualcomm might stay on TSMC to produce the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro on its 2nm process node.

Notably, Amon skipped a meeting with TM Roh, head of Samsung's mobile division which suggests that this trip is about manufacturing chips at Samsung Foundry rather than phones. The two companies continue to collaborate on the Snapdragon Wear Elite and Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 for smartwatches and XR headsets.