Meta has temporarily paused a custom AI chip project being developed with Samsung Electronics, according to reporting cited by industry sources. The move adds another setback to Samsung's efforts to win major custom silicon business from leading technology companies.
The project had been moving through advanced development under Samsung's System LSI Division since last year. If it had reached mass production, the contract was expected to be worth tens of trillions of won over the long term. Instead, the work has now been suspended after Meta asked for a hold, even though the project had already progressed beyond the early stages.
The pause comes only days after reports indicated that Samsung's custom AI chip collaboration with OpenAI had also been put on hold. Together, the two developments suggest that Samsung's push into tailored AI silicon is facing headwinds just as the market for high-performance chips continues to grow.
An industry source said the Samsung and Meta effort was in an advanced phase before client-side circumstances led to the temporary suspension. Meta has reportedly framed the decision as a hold rather than a cancellation, leaving open the possibility that work could resume later. No schedule for a restart has been announced.
Samsung has been building out its in-house chip design capabilities to compete in the custom silicon market. Last year, it created a dedicated Custom SoC organization within the System LSI Division and assigned around 70 specialists to speed up development of chips designed for individual customers. That structure was intended to help Samsung move more quickly on bespoke processors for artificial intelligence and other demanding workloads.
The company has also been trying to strengthen its wider semiconductor position as it looks for growth opportunities beyond its traditional businesses. Samsung recently joined Anthropic's Series H funding round as a strategic infrastructure partner, a move that could create future openings for its logic chip and foundry operations. Industry watchers have pointed to that investment as a potential way for Samsung to deepen ties in the AI ecosystem even as other projects are delayed.
The latest pause does not appear to reflect a broader cancellation of Samsung's custom chip ambitions. But it does underline how dependent such projects are on customer priorities, product timelines and shifting technical requirements. For Samsung, the challenge is not just designing competitive chips, but also keeping major partners committed long enough to bring them to production.
Meta's decision also highlights the uncertain nature of custom AI chip development across the industry. Large technology companies are increasingly exploring dedicated processors to support growing AI workloads, but many of those efforts remain in development or early deployment stages. When plans change on the customer side, suppliers can be left waiting despite having already invested significant engineering resources.
For now, Samsung's work for Meta is on pause rather than abandoned. Whether the project resumes will likely depend on Meta's longer-term hardware strategy and Samsung's ability to keep its semiconductor clients engaged.