Samsung's native foundry operations have wrestled with the 3 nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process—these problems have persisted since the first reports of " missed production targets " emerged late last year—online speculators floated a very disappointing yield figure: only 20%. Last December, industry moles proposed that the South Korean technology giant had devised plans to form an Exynos-centric " multi-channel partnership " with rival chipmakers. Speculation pointed to TSMC being the only valid ally. Semiconductor industry tipster— Jukanlosreve —believes that negotiations have taken place, and the answer was a firm "no." TSMC's most advanced node process order books are likely filled up with more important customers—industry watchdogs reckon that Apple usually gets first dibs .

Taiwan's top semiconductor manufacturer leads the market with its cutting-edge lithography techniques. Insiders believe that Samsung was impressed by TSMC's 2 nm trial production runs achieving (rumored) 60% yields. The higher-end Exynos chipsets are normally produced with the best node process available, but missed manufacturing goals have caused Samsung to drop in-house tech. In the recent past, Qualcomm's most powerful Snapdragon mobile chipsets have been deployed on flagship Galaxy S smartphones. Jukanlosreve believes that TSMC rejected Samsung's proposed Exynos deal due to a fear of revealing too many "trade secrets." Potentially, the South Koreans could have learned a thing or two about improving yields—courtesy of TSMC's expert knowledge.