According to South Korean outlet Business Post, sources indicate that Samsung is weighing investment in Intel’s packaging business — an area where Intel has a competitive edge — and is also exploring the use of Intel’s packaging production lines in the U.S.

Sources highlight Samsung’s need to enhance its packaging capabilities and note Intel’s strength in this field. The report, citing sources, adds that deeper cooperation with Intel in back-end packaging could help Samsung narrow the gap with TSMC.

Samsung has generally outsourced wafers from its front-end processes to OSAT firms for testing and packaging. The report points out that while TSMC also partners with Taiwanese OSAT companies, it maintains the world’s most advanced back-end packaging capabilities.

By contrast, Intel lags in front-end node technology but holds strengths in packaging. As the report notes, Intel Foundry is already applying hybrid bonding technology to its 18A  production.

Hybrid bonding is a packaging method that stacks chips through copper connections instead of bumps. The report notes that although it has not yet been adopted for memory semiconductors like HBM, both Intel and TSMC are already applying it to CPUs and image sensors (CIS).

Samsung and Intel’s foundry partnership may take the form of joint ventures (JVs), involving shared capital, technology, and personnel for equity investment or targeted business projects, as the report indicates, citing sources.

Samsung Reportedly Exploring Glass Substrate Collaboration With Intel

Notably, the report, citing sources, indicates that Samsung and Intel’s cooperation may also extend into next-generation semiconductor glass substrates.

Intel has begun licensing its semiconductor glass substrate technology, allowing other companies to use it, according to South Korean outlet ETNews, citing industry sources. As Business Post notes, sources highlight that since Intel spent more than a decade developing this technology and has now opened it up, collaboration with Samsung could move forward more smoothly.

The South Korean giant is advancing in glass substrates. As Business Post notes, Samsung Electro-Mechanics has hired Kang Doo-an, a former senior Intel engineer with extensive glass substrate expertise, to lead technology analysis and R&D strategy for chip packaging.

Concurrently, Samsung is pushing toward commercialization. The company plans to adopt glass substrate interposers for advanced semiconductors by 2028 to “meet customer demands,” and has already begun operating a pilot line at its Sejong facility, according to The Korea Herald, citing sources.