AI chip boom pushes Samsung profits to record $80bn — SkimNews
Get the Tech newsletter
Daily tech — startups, AI labs, chips, the launches that shape the next decade. Free.
- Samsung Electronics expects Q3 operating profit of 107.4tn won ($80bn), a nine-fold year-on-year surge and its fourth straight record quarter, driven by memory chip demand from AI data centers
- Samsung sits among the world's largest memory chip makers alongside South Korea's SK Hynix and US-based Micron, supplying chips crucial to AI firms like Nvidia
- Samsung's Galaxy Fold and S26 smartphone lines are also expected to benefit from the latest folding devices launched in August, with full Q3 results due at the end of October
- South Korea unveiled plans for at least $880bn in chip manufacturing projects led by Samsung and SK Hynix, while rival firms in Japan, China, and Taiwan also invest heavily in chip plants
- US tech giants Google, Amazon, and Meta have pledged more than $650bn into AI projects this year, fueling the broader chip demand behind Samsung's surge
- Samsung has raised chip prices amid the global semiconductor shortage, pushing up costs for downstream products like smartphones and computers
Why it matters: For consumers, Samsung's chip price hikes amid the global shortage translate into more expensive smartphones and computers, while Samsung and rivals SK Hynix and Micron capture surging AI-driven demand. With $880bn in planned South Korean chip investment and over $650bn in US AI spending, the memory chip squeeze continues to tighten supply for non-AI buyers.
Ask SkimNews
