**[Samsung's 2nm Process Orders Surge, Leading to Workforce Strain; Google TPU I/O Chip Backend Design May Be Outsourced]** BlockBeats News, July 16: Samsung Electronics is considering outsourcing the backend design work for the I/O chip of Google's 10th-generation TPU (codenamed Icefish). This 2nm process-based TPU consists of a Compute processor and an I/O chip—the former is expected to be manufactured by TSMC using a 1.4nm process, while the latter will be produced by Samsung using a 2nm process, responsible for data transmission between the Compute processor and HBM. Google is co-designing this chip with MediaTek, with mass production expected as early as 2028. Recently, Samsung has seen a rapid influx of 2nm orders—not only from Google and Tesla but also from clients like Anthropic and DeepX—resulting in a shortage of internal workforce. Previously, Tesla's 2nm autonomous driving chip backend design was completed using Samsung's in-house resources. Currently, potential outsourcing partners being considered include ADTechnology, Gaonchips, and Alphachips. The first two companies are already engaged in large-scale projects—ADTechnology is focusing on the 2nm CPU project ADP620, aiming for annual revenue of over 1 trillion KRW between 2028 and 2029; Gaonchips is preparing to participate in South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy's K-On-Device AI project, valued at approximately 800 billion KRW, collaborating with Hyundai Motor and others to develop 5nm ADAS chips. Since backend design is essentially a low-value-added service contract (typically worth hundreds of billions of KRW), far less lucrative than full-package ASIC projects (which can reach several trillion KRW), both companies are not highly motivated, preferring to take on limited work to build a track record in advanced process projects. On the other hand, Alphachips views the Google TPU project as a growth driver and is more willing to participate. Industry insiders point out that TSMC's capacity bottleneck in the 2nm market is causing overflow orders to shift to Samsung, which is the deeper reason behind its workforce strain. [Original Link]