Mobile Samsung’s Chairman Lee Jae-yong Has Reportedly Slipped Into Taiwan To Steal MediaTek As A Foundry Client From TSMC Rohail Saleem • at EDT Add on Google Samsung is apparently feeling confident enough on the back of its rapidly growing coffers to try to eat some of TSMC's lunch, especially the proverbial course related to MediaTek, if one were to adhere to a cullinary-themed analogy. As a case in point, consider the latest rumor, which posits that Samsung's Chairman is currently courting MediaTek on TSMC's home turf. Related Story Samsung’s Galaxy Z Roll To Join Its Holographic And Blood Pressure-Measuring Displays In A Litany Of Upcoming NoveltiesSamsung wants to rope in MediaTek as a foundry client, and is not above dangling lucrative memory deals to achieve its goals According to a Taiwanese publication, Samsung's Chairman, Lee Jae-yong visited Taiwan on May 21 with a high-level entourage. One of the main agendas of the stealth visit was to meet MediaTek's CEO, Cai Lixing. Sources believe that after securing a fabrication order for Tesla's AI6 chip, all the while actively courting AMD for its 2nm process, Samsung is now eyeing MediaTek as the next major foundry customer. And, to stack the cards in its favor, Samsung is apparently not above offering MediaTek preferential access to its precious memory chips for the upcoming Dimensity-class mobile SoCs. In doing so, Samsung is apparently rehashing the tactics it used earlier to lure Qualcomm as a foundry client. This visit also comes at a time when relations between MediaTek and TSMC are already somewhat strained. After all, MediaTek recently awarded the advanced packaging contract for Google's inference-focused 8th-gen TPU to Intel, while retaining TSMC's packaging services for the training-focused iteration of the 8th-gen TPU. Do note that Google has picked MediaTek as its major design partner for these TPUs. At any rate, dislodging TSMC appears to be a tall order for Samsung even if the momentum is certainly favoring it at the moment. About the : Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur. Follow on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds. Deal of the Day Further Reading Galaxy Z Fold 8 Is Proof Samsung Has Lost The Foldable Smartphone Battle Against Apple Before The iPhone Fold’s Arrival Samsung Galaxy S27 Pro Tipped To Steal The Ultra’s 200MP Sensor, As The Base S27 Finally Gets A 50MP Ultra-Wide/Telephoto Upgrade Samsung Shareholders Up In Arms Over The “Illegal” Incentives Deal That Will See Each Memory Division Worker Take Home ~$400,000 In Bonuses AMD’s EPYC Venice Becomes Industry’s First 2nm HPC CPU To Achieve Volume Ramp As It Races Towards Agentic AI Leadership Read all on Samsung’s Chairman Lee Jae-yong Has Reportedly Slipped Into Taiwan To Steal MediaTek As A Foundry Client From TSMC
