Samsung Electronics is restructuring its foundry (contract manufacturing) Design Solution Partner (DSP) system. Instead of aggressively expanding the number of partners, the company is focusing on selecting partners that can effectively secure customers and projects.
According to industry sources on the 7th, domestic semiconductor design company Widermax has been excluded from Samsung's foundry DSP list, approximately 1 year and 6 months after its inclusion. UK-based semiconductor design firm Sondrel has also been removed.
The two companies are no longer listed on Samsung's official DSP partner page. Samsung's DSP partners had increased from 8 in late 2024 to 13, but the recent restructuring reduced the number to 11.
DSPs act as a bridge between fabless companies and Samsung Foundry, supporting design optimization, physical design, verification, and connecting projects to actual foundry orders.
An industry insider stated, “We've known since about three months ago that Widermax was removed from Samsung's DSP list. Around the time of its exclusion, there was a noticeable increase in employee turnover and resignations at the company.”
Widermax's workforce has notably decreased since June. According to National Pension Service data, the company's employee count dropped from 181 at the end of last year to 146 recently. Notably, 17 employees left in June and 31 in July, marking a significant two-month exodus.
The industry views this reduction as part of Samsung's effort to reorganize its ecosystem, prioritizing partners capable of securing actual fabless customers and projects for Samsung's processes.
Samsung Foundry's immediate challenge is securing customers for advanced processes. Stabilizing the 4nm process and expanding 2nm customers are critical. Rather than simply increasing DSP numbers, the focus has shifted to securing partners that can convert AI and HPC fabless projects into actual orders.
Another industry insider noted, “Partner evaluations resumed last year. Recently, the focus has shifted from merely increasing partner numbers to assessing actual activity and business performance before adjusting the partner system.”
Widermax reported an operating profit of 3.08 billion KRW in 2023 but shifted to a loss of 1.59 billion KRW in 2024. Its operating loss expanded to 11.34 billion KRW in the year it was included as a DSP.
Regarding its exclusion from Samsung's DSP list, Widermax stated, “We have no comment on the matter.”
