Samsung Electronics has signed strategic partnership agreements with Germany's Infineon Technologies and the Netherlands-based NXP Semiconductors to jointly develop next-generation automotive chip solutions using Samsung's 5nm process technology. The collaboration is expected to bring significant orders to Samsung's foundry and memory businesses.

The automotive industry has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past decade, driven by the rapid advancement of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving technologies. These innovations have sharply increased the demand for high-performance automotive chips. Analysts project the automotive semiconductor market will grow at an annual rate of over 15% over the next five years, presenting major growth opportunities for chipmakers like Samsung.

While past speculation had suggested Samsung might acquire Infineon or NXP, such deals never materialized. Instead, this collaboration signals Samsung's renewed commitment to strengthening its presence in the automotive semiconductor space through strategic alliances.

Leveraging its extensive expertise in both memory and wafer foundry services, Samsung will work with its partners to co-develop cutting-edge automotive semiconductors. The new chips will combine Samsung's 5nm process technology with integrated memory solutions, targeting improvements in real-time processing, memory-processor synergy, and enhanced security features.

Industry sources also report that Samsung is working on highly integrated system-on-chip (SoC) designs to boost power efficiency. These advanced SoCs are expected to play a critical role in meeting the rising computational demands of intelligent vehicles and will support the continued evolution of smart driving technologies.