Samsung has reportedly begun analyzing the performance of its Exynos and ISOCELL teams after a series of poor results. This measure was taken after the company was left behind by its rivals despite continued investments.
Samsung looking into performance of Exynos and ISOCELL divisions due to failures
A Chosun Media report claims that Samsung has begun the management diagnosis of Samsung Semiconductor. The audit is being performed by the Management Diagnosis Office, a new team formed in November 2024 under Samsung Global Research.
Exynos chips haven’t been as competitive as they should be over the past few years. The Exynos 990 and the Exynos 2200 were terrible. They consumed more power than their rivals and offered lower performance. The Exynos 2400 was pretty decent, but Samsung couldn’t launch the Exynos 2500 in time.
Due to these disappointments, Samsung started auditing the performance of Samsung Foundry and System LSI. These divisions have been posting losses for years.
Samsung Foundry fabricates semiconductor chips for other firms (like Qualcomm and Nvidia). System LSI designs Exynos processors and ISOCELL camera sensors used in automobiles, smartphones, tablets, and other devices.
Last year, they faced a loss of KRW 4-5 trillion (~$2.7 to 3.45 billion). Samsung saw that the performance of its non-memory semiconductor division has been falling short despite large-scale investments. It has faced issues related to yield in the ultra-high-end fabrication processes (like 3nm and 4nm).
In 2019, Samsung Electronics said it would invest KRW 171 trillion by 2030 in its semiconductor business to become the world’s biggest semiconductor firm. However, its market share has only reduced since then.
In the foundry segment, its market share dropped from 19.1% in Q1 2019 to 8.2% in Q4 2024. In the camera sensor business, Samsung’s market share is lower than 20%, and Sony dominates the market.
Samsung’s performance analysis of its semiconductor chip business will allow it to find the problems in its technology and decision-making processes.
Image Credits: Samsung
