Scarcity pricing is back in the chip business. Samsung Foundry has sold out its 4nm production capacity through 2026 and has bookings running deep into 2027, driven almost entirely by customers building AI infrastructure, high-performance computing hardware, and next-generation automotive silicon.
The company is also raising prices, approximately 15% on both its 4nm and 5nm processes for new customers.
What is actually happening on the factory floor
The 4nm node is fully subscribed. Existing customers have locked up capacity, and new customers are being told to wait, or pay the premium.
To handle overflow demand, Samsung is expanding sales of its 5nm process. Samsung also plans to repurpose its established 4nm lines for a broader product mix, including logic processing units and high-bandwidth memory base dies. HBM base dies are a critical component in AI accelerator stacks, the kind used in data centers running large language models.
A production ramp for 4nm is targeted for the second half of 2026.
AI, cars, and the customers Samsung is courting
Samsung is in active discussions with Chinese automakers, including BYD, about supplying 4nm and 2nm chips for autonomous driving system-on-chips.
BYD is the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer by volume.
The longer game: 2nm, 1.4nm, and catching TSMC
Samsung has outlined plans for 2nm mass production targeting 2025, with a 1.4nm process originally scheduled for 2027, though the company has signaled those timelines may shift.
For investors watching the semiconductor space, sold-out foundry capacity at premium pricing, combined with a 15% price increase for new entrants, signals that demand is running well ahead of supply through at least the middle of the decade. Companies that have already secured long-term foundry agreements at older pricing are sitting on a meaningful cost advantage relative to latecomers paying the new rates. The automotive discussions with BYD add a dimension that pure AI coverage tends to miss: the electrification and autonomy buildout in China represents a massive incremental source of advanced chip demand, and Samsung may be positioning itself as the preferred non-US foundry partner for that market.