Samsung orders equipment for 6,000 more 2nm wafers a month at Taylor

The 6,000-wafer order

Samsung has placed an equipment order that will let its Taylor 1 plant produce 6,000 wafers a month of 2nm chips, ZDNet Korea reported. Taylor 1 is expected to become operational by the end of this year and will use extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, according to the report. The order builds on earlier procurement aimed at 10,000 wafers a month. Together, the earlier procurement and the new order cover 16,000 wafers a month. ZDNet Korea's sources said pilot production capacity would close the remaining 4,000-wafer gap to the site's 20,000-wafer monthly maximum by the second half of 2027.

Capacity and Tesla

The Taylor fab is equipped for 50,000 wafers a month, Electronics Weekly reported, so the 20,000-wafer maximum for the second half of 2027 would be 40% of that capacity. The 20,000 figure is a ceiling, not current output. The fab's 2nm capacity is fully booked with Tesla, Broadcom and Arm, according to Electronics Weekly. Digitimes reported in September that the booking was complete before volume production began.

Tesla remains the key customer at Taylor, Electronics Weekly reported, having signed a $16.5 billion supply deal with Samsung. Samsung has started trial production of Tesla's AI5 chip at Taylor, Seoul Economic Daily reported, with prototype chips running on several lines as part of calibration. Digitimes reported that the work moved the fab into 2nm wafer production and yield verification. Samsung intends to begin supplying production AI5 chips in 2027, with volume in mid-2027, Electronics Weekly reported.

Yield recovery

Yield estimates for Samsung's 2nm process have varied by source and date. TechTimes reported that analysts put yields at roughly 50% when Exynos 2600 mass production began in September 2025. Sources cited by Korea Economic Daily said yields crossed 60% at a peak in the first quarter of 2026, climbing from roughly 20% in late 2025. Busan Ilbo reported in April 2026 that yields were in the mid-50s. TSMC was reportedly at 60% to 70% at its own 2nm node. The reports point to improvement from about 20% in late 2025 to above 60% at the early 2026 peak, though the April estimate shows the level was not steady.

Timeline and next fab

Samsung announced in 2021 that it would invest more than $17 billion in Taylor to build a new foundry plant, Chosun Biz reported. In its second-quarter earnings release, the company said, "Taylor Fab 1 is proceeding with preparations for operation in 2026 as planned." Samsung plans to start construction of Taylor 2 at the end of this year and begin mass production in 2030, Chosun Biz reported. The second fab is targeted to use a 1.4nm process, Electronics Weekly reported. The company says expanding advanced-process capacity is necessary because of growing AI demand.