Samsung

Samsung Electronics was founded in 1969 in Suwon, South Korea, as the electronics arm of the Samsung Group conglomerate, which itself was founded by Lee Byung-chul in 1938. The company is publicly traded on the Korea Stock Exchange under the ticker 005930. Samsung Electronics is one of the world's largest semiconductor manufacturers, as well as a major producer of consumer electronics, displays, and mobile devices.

Samsung's semiconductor division — formally Samsung Semiconductor — designs and manufactures DRAM, NAND flash memory, and logic chips including mobile application processors. The memory business competes directly with SK Hynix and Micron Technology. Samsung is also a major foundry operator through Samsung Foundry, competing with TSMC for advanced-node manufacturing contracts at nodes including 3nm and 4nm using gate-all-around (GAA) transistor technology.

Samsung's semiconductor product lines include DRAM (DDR5, LPDDR5X), V-NAND flash storage, and the Exynos line of mobile application processors. The Exynos processors are used in certain Galaxy smartphone models, though Samsung has at times sourced Qualcomm Snapdragon chips instead for flagship Galaxy S series devices in specific markets. Samsung Foundry manufactures chips for third-party customers under contract. The company is also the world's largest manufacturer of OLED display panels, supplying Apple, among others, for iPhone screens.

In DRAM, Samsung competes primarily with SK Hynix and Micron. In NAND flash, the competitive set includes SK Hynix (which acquired Intel's NAND business), Kioxia, Western Digital, and Micron. In foundry services, TSMC holds a significant lead in advanced nodes, and Samsung Foundry has worked to close that gap with its 3nm GAA process, though TSMC has retained the majority of leading-edge orders from major fabless customers such as Apple, NVIDIA, and AMD. In 2024, Samsung faced widely reported yield and performance challenges at its advanced foundry nodes, which affected its ability to win and retain foundry customers.

Samsung operates a significant R&D center in Israel. Samsung's Israeli R&D activity is headquartered in Herzliya, operating under Samsung Research Israel (formerly known as Samsung Electronics Israel R&D Center). The Israeli center focuses primarily on modem and wireless communication technology, including 5G baseband development. Samsung has recruited extensively from Israeli universities and from veterans of IDF intelligence and technology units. The Herzliya center is one of Samsung's primary global sites for modem R&D.