Samsung 3nm is set to launch the first mining machine chip from a Chinese manufacturer

There's been a lot of press coverage recently about Samsung's 3nm, and epoch-making GAA (surround gate) transistor. It is not easy to judge whether it is a mule or a horse. Perhaps the 4NM car overturned and made Samsung rethink its pain and speed up the progress. Or it could be a P.R. smokescreen.

According to a recent report in TheElec, Samsung will begin trial production of the 3nm process as soon as this week, with the first customer coming from A Chinese mining chip maker called PanSemi.

This suggests that PanSemi has deep pockets and is bold, given Samsung's low initial capacity for 3nm.

PanSemi is Shanghai Pan Silicon Semiconductor Technology Co., LTD., founded in 2016, with paid-in registered capital of 45 million yuan. Unfortunately, the company doesn't have much else. Its website is rudimentary, and it lists only three corporate enrollees.

Going back to 3nm itself, according to Samsung, 3nm GAA technology improves logical area efficiency by more than 45 percent, reduces power consumption by 50 percent and improves performance by about 35 percent compared to 7nm manufacturing processes. GAA provides more precise current control and narrower gate width than the most advanced and mature FinFET transistors currently used at 5nm and 7nm.