On August 19, two informed sources revealed that, owing to a significant uptick in demand for AI chips, Samsung Electronics has implemented a price hike of up to 15% for new orders of certain advanced chip foundry services, amidst a tightening of foundry business capacity. One source indicated that, compared to last month, prices for SF4 have risen by 10% to 15% for customers in mainland China and the United States, while prices for customers in Taiwan, China, have seen an increase of 5% to 10%. This price adjustment marks a pivotal moment for Samsung's foundry business, which has been grappling with losses since 2022. Although Samsung has reported record profits, propelled by surging memory chip prices, its foundry division continues to face challenges in closing the performance gap with TSMC. The sources further disclosed that, in July, Samsung raised prices for chips produced using the 4-nanometer process (SF4), with wafer prices for the 5-nanometer process (SF5) climbing by 10% to 15%, and prices for wafers manufactured using the older 8-nanometer process experiencing a nearly 10% increase. Samsung refrained from commenting, stating that it does not disclose specific operational details.