Samsung Electronics has indefinitely postponed its annual "Foundry Forum" in major markets such as the United States and China.
The Foundry Forum is a briefing session on Samsung Electronics' semiconductor consignment production (Foundry) project to achieve its top non-memory vision in 2030 and has been held sequentially in China, Europe, Japan, and Korea, starting with the U.S. every year.
Samsung Electronics announced on its Web page on March 15 (U.S. time) that it will postpone its schedule for the Samsung Foundry Forum 2020. Samsung originally planned to hold this year's first foundry forum on May 20 at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel in California, adjacent to Silicon Valley.
Samsung Electronics did not mention its future schedule, only saying the decision was made as concerns grew over the COVID-19. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended on the same day that no events should be held with more than 50 people for the next eight weeks to prevent the spread of the COVID-19.
The Foundry Forum, which started in 2016, is a kind of "show case" for system semiconductor workers around the world. Starting with the U.S. in May every year, it has been implemented in China in June, Korea in July, Japan in September, Germany in October, and so on.
Samsung's ultrafine nanometer process and EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) process, which allow users to draw circuits in more detail, are used to explain to customers and receive orders for consignment production volume.
The decision is expected to negatively affect Samsung's foundry business. In order to properly operate the EUV-only line at its Hwaseong plant, which started operation last month, it will have to win more orders for consigned production from U.S. companies such as Qualcomm and AMD in addition to Samsung Electronics' set business.
