Samsung Electronics has reported substantial progress in securing supply deals for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, a move aimed at bolstering investor confidence amidst a recent slowdown in semiconductor profits. The company announced that its operating profit for the July-September period surged by more than 277% year-on-year to 9.18 trillion won (USD 6.65 billion). Despite this significant increase, the profits fell short of market expectations. Concurrently, South Korea's overall chip production experienced a decline of 3% in September, reversing an 11% gain in August, indicating a potential cooling in global demand for semiconductors. Additionally, Samsung plans to shut down 50% of its production lines at its chip foundry business to cut costs due to sluggish orders from US and China chip design firms, following estimated losses of ₩1 trillion won (US$725 million) in the third quarter. Samsung also reported that its Q3 chip profits plummeted 40% due to 'one-off costs'.