Poor Performance Could Cost Samsung LSI Exynos Chip Design Business

Samsung is contemplating reorganizing its business and changing its Exynos chip architecture. Samsung LSI designs Exynos, but internal conversations suggest Samsung MX, which makes the Galaxy smartphones, might take over.

This shift will unify Samsung MX’s chip design team to improve Exynos chip performance and Galaxy device user experience. The Foundry division of Samsung would manufacture the SoCs.

The concept is apparently causing internal controversy despite its merits. According to reports, some board members favor the idea and others oppose it.

Recent performance issues in Samsung’s LSI division prompted a possible Exynos chip redesign. LSI has missed deadlines for the Galaxy S25 and S23 series, delaying the Exynos 2500 delivery. Additionally, Exynos CPUs sometimes perform poorly compared to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon competitors.

The Samsung Foundry may prevent Samsung from integrating the chip design team into MX mobile. Recent years have seen the Foundry division struggle to keep up with TSMC in sophisticated manufacturing process technologies. This technical plateau is a distinct but major barrier for Samsung’s semiconductor strategy.