Samsung Weighs Outsourcing Backend Design for Google’s 2nm TPU I/O Chip as Orders Stretch Staffing

Samsung Electronics is considering outsourcing backend design work for the I/O chip in Google’s 10th-generation TPU, code-named Icefish, as a wave of 2nm orders puts pressure on its available engineering staff. The TPU is split into a Compute processor and an I/O chip: the Compute die is expected to be made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) on 1.4nm, while Samsung would manufacture the I/O chip on 2nm to handle data transfer between the Compute processor and high-bandwidth memory, or HBM. Google is designing the chip with MediaTek, with mass production expected as early as 2028. Potential outsourcing partners mentioned in the report include ADTechnology, Gaonchips and Alphachips. ADTechnology and Gaonchips are already tied up with large projects and are said to have limited interest in low-value backend design contracts, which typically amount to tens of billions of won, far below the value of full ASIC projects that can run into the hundreds of billions or even 1 trillion won. Alphachips, by contrast, is described as more willing to participate and sees the Google TPU program as a growth driver.