Why Elon Musk Shifted from Taiwan to South Korea

Elon Musk’s company Neuralink has partnered with Samsung to manufacture its next-generation chips, while reportedly ending its collaboration with TSMC. The Taiwanese semiconductor giant had previously produced Neuralink’s third-generation chips, but a report from the Korea Economic Daily indicates the partnership will not continue. The same report highlights the large order volumes received by TSMC due to the AI explosion, a phenomenon that has strained the company’s supply chain despite efforts to increase monthly capacity to 175,000 wafer units for 3nm lithography. TSMC’s supply chain issues have effectively opened the door for Samsung, which previously collaborated with Tesla on AI6 and AI6.5. Samsung will utilise a 4nm process for the chips, though the Korea Economic Daily report did not specify the reason for using this established node. Citing Wccftech, the decision likely relates to Samsung having achieved better stability in this process compared to newer ones, a strategy that ensures greater reliability and timely chip delivery. Samsung is expected to produce and deliver the first batch of Neuralink trial chips in the first half of 2027, with mass production at the earliest by the end of next year. Wccftech notes that the fourth-generation chip’s key difference is its ability to transmit data from a device into the brain, aiming to activate users’ physical functions, such as restoring a patient’s vision through brain neuron simulation.