The global semiconductor industry is experiencing a new wave of price increases!

On Tuesday, media reports indicated that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's 2nm process pricing has risen by at least 50% compared to 3nm, while the final generation 3nm CPU prices have already increased approximately 20% over previous generations. Meanwhile, memory chip giants Samsung and SK Hynix have already led the charge in raising product prices, accelerating semiconductor inflation.

According to industry sources, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's latest 2nm process will begin mass production this quarter. However, due to the massive capital expenditure required for advanced processes, the company currently has no discount or negotiation strategies in place. Supply chain estimates suggest that flagship chips using the 2nm process could be priced as high as $280 per unit.

Driven by robust memory demand from AI data centers, Samsung significantly raised prices for memory and flash storage products this week, with DRAM product increases reaching 30%. Delivery times have also extended from one month to over six months. Competitors including Micron and SanDisk have simultaneously implemented similar price increases.

**Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's 2nm Process Price Increase Exceeds Expectations**

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's pricing strategy for its 2nm process demonstrates the dominant position of the world's largest chip foundry. Industry sources indicate that mobile phone chips will enter the 2nm era next year, but the company's massive capital expenditure for advanced processes means that despite achieving target yields, it maintains an aggressive pricing strategy.

Compared to the 3nm process, 2nm process prices have increased by at least 50%. Initial products will focus primarily on AI and high-performance computing chips, with mobile phone chips scheduled for mass production by the end of next year. This increase far exceeds market expectations, reflecting the scarcity and high costs of advanced process technology.

Currently, Android smartphone ecosystem players MediaTek and Qualcomm are launching their latest flagship chips, the Dimensity 9500 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, both utilizing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's latest N3P process. Supply chain sources indicate that these final-generation 3nm flagship chips have already seen price increases of 16-24%.

Apple has reportedly increased its reserved share of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's 2nm capacity from nearly 50% to over 50%. As the foundry's largest customer, Apple contributed 22% of the chip manufacturing giant's revenue in 2024, totaling $19.4 billion.

Apple's latest iPhone 17 series A19 chip uses Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's latest 3nm N3P process, while the next-generation A20 will enter the 2nm era. This massive procurement scale provides Apple with strong negotiating power in capacity allocation.

Qualcomm and MediaTek similarly plan to launch their first 2nm chip products by the end of 2026, but Apple's capacity monopolization strategy may force these competitors to face supply shortage challenges. This concentrated capacity allocation will further widen the gap between Apple and the Android ecosystem in chip technology.

**Memory Chip Manufacturers Collectively Raise Prices**

The memory chip market is experiencing price increases due to supply-demand imbalances. Samsung significantly raised prices for memory and flash storage products this week, with DRAM product increases reaching 30% and NAND flash prices rising 5-10%, due to supply constraints and surging demand from cloud enterprises.

Competitors Micron and SanDisk simultaneously announced similar price increases, with Micron's increases reaching 20-30% while suspending acceptance of new orders. Driven by strong memory and storage demand from AI data centers, major manufacturers including Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron, WD, and SanDisk have seen delivery times for consumer and enterprise products extend from one month to over six months.

This wave of price increases reflects the profound impact of the AI application explosion on the semiconductor industry chain, with continued data center construction needs driving up memory procurement volumes and significantly strengthening suppliers' pricing power.