NVIDIA picking Samsung over TSMC for next Ampere GPU deal?

Is NVIDIA sticking with Samsung for its next Ampere-based GPUs? At the moment, NVIDIA is producing its Ampere GPUs using the 8nm node from Samsung's foundry unit. There were rumors that a refresh of the Ampere lineup would be made using TSMC's better performing 7nm node. The latter's process technology is believed to be superior to what Samsung has on offer, which would result in better performing GPUs that consume less energy.

But a switch back to TSMC may not be the case as a report from Korea Economic Daily indicates Samsung has won a second big contract from NVIDIA. Anonymous industry sources told the paper that the deal is worth "hundreds of billions of won." In US dollars that means several hundred million.

Samsung, the world’s second-largest foundry player, has clinched a deal to make Nvidia’s next-generation graphic processing unit (GPU), the Ampere GeForce RTX30 series, using its 8-nanometer process technology, according to the semiconductor industry on Dec. 17.

The contract is Samsung’s second order this year from the Santa Clara, California-based company, following a similar deal in September.

Korea Economic Daily heard NVIDIA picked Samsung over TSMC "in consideration of Samsung's technology and the need for quick delivery of the chips."