TSMC's COUPE push puts Samsung's silicon photonics ambitions under pressure

Samsung’s foray into silicon photonics reveals a strategic vulnerability: its lack of an integrated advanced packaging ecosystem. While TSMC leverages Taiwan’s mature supply chain to co-optimize optical engines, interposers, and chip stacking within its CPO framework, Samsung remains stuck in pilot production with no local photonics partners—delaying yield ramp and customer adoption. U.S. CHIPS Act subsidies favoring domestic advanced packaging further inflate Samsung’s overseas compliance costs. With Nvidia and Broadcom urgently qualifying CPO solutions, TSMC will likely accelerate its Open Innovation Platform to lock in optical module vendors, cornering Samsung into either costly photonics IP acquisitions or second-tier supplier status. If Samsung fails to vertically integrate from lasers to test within 18 months, its photonics initiative risks becoming a showcase—not a revenue driver.