Datastream
The Top 10 Semiconductor Companies by Market Share
The Briefing
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. accounts for 54% of the global market share
- Taiwan, South Korea, and China combine for 87% of the global semiconductor market
The Top 10 Semiconductor Companies by Market Share
Semiconductors are an essential component of the microchips that power virtually every modern electronic device. As the objects around us get “smarter” and demand for electronics grows around the world, the demand for semiconductors will continue to skyrocket.
So, which companies currently make these chips, and where are they located?
The above infographic uses data from TrendForce to break down the top 10 semiconductor companies by country and market share.
The Biggest Semiconductor Companies
Before diving into the companies, it’s important to have context on their business. Also known as foundries, these semiconductor companies specialize in the fabrication or production of chips. “Fabless” chip makers—companies that design their chips and supply hardware but do not have fabrication plants—outsource chip production to foundries, primarily in Asia.
Taiwan, China, and South Korea combine for roughly 87% of the global foundry market. Here’s how it breaks down:
| Company | Market share | Country |
|---|---|---|
| TSMC | 54% | Taiwan 🇹🇼 |
| Samsung | 17% | South Korea 🇰🇷 |
| UMC | 7% | Taiwan 🇹🇼 |
| GlobalFoundries | 7% | U.S. 🇺🇸 |
| SMIC | 5% | China 🇨🇳 |
| HH Grace | 1% | China 🇨🇳 |
| PSMC | 1% | Taiwan 🇹🇼 |
| VIS | 1% | Taiwan 🇹🇼 |
| DB HiTek | 1% | China 🇨🇳 |
| Tower Semiconductor | 1% | Israel 🇮🇱 |
| Other firms | 5% | N/A |
TSMC, short for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, is by far the world’s largest chip manufacturer. It’s also the sixth most valuable company in the world with a market cap of over $600 billion, and supplies chips to the likes of Apple, Intel, and Nvidia.
TSMC and Samsung are the only companies capable of producing today’s most advanced 5-nanometer chips that go into iPhones. However, the Taiwanese company is one step ahead and set to produce its 3-nanometer chips in 2022, offering the most advanced foundry technology.
Other companies on the list include China’s largest chipmaker SMIC, one of the 60 Chinese companies blacklisted by the U.S. in 2020. On a country level, Taiwan accounts for 63% of the foundry market, followed by South Korea with 18%. In both countries, the majority of the market share belongs to a single company.
The 2021 Semiconductor Shortage
With the adoption of 5G devices and other new technologies, chips have been in high demand.
While pandemic-induced shutdowns have hampered supply, the demand for chips has continued surging with reopening economies. The resulting chip shortage has rattled several industries with lead times—the gap between when a semiconductor is ordered and when it is delivered is at a record high of 22 weeks.
The chip shortage is a boon to semiconductor companies, but downstream firms are struggling. Global automakers are set to make 7.7 million fewer cars in 2021, which translates into a $210 billion hit to their revenues. Consumer electronics have taken a blow as well, with popular products like the Playstation 5 console in short supply.
New chip factories take years to build, in addition to billions of dollars. With many analysts expecting the shortage to last through 2023, it’ll be interesting to see how chipmakers respond, especially if demand continues to rise.
Where does this data come from?
Source: TrendForce
Datastream
Charted: The Ukraine War Civilian Death Toll
Using data from the UN, this chart shows civilian death toll figures resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Briefing
- In total, since the war began in February there have been over 7,031 Ukrainian civilian deaths
- Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons, such as missiles and heavy artillery
Charted: The Ukraine War Civilian Death Toll
Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine has wrought suffering and death on a mass scale, with many Russian attacks targeted at civilians.
We’ve created this visual using data from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to better understand how many civilians have died in Ukraine as a result of the war, as well as how many were injured and how many were children.
The Numbers
As of early December, it is reported that 7,031 people in Ukraine have died because of the war — 433 of them children. Another 11,327 have been injured, 827 of which are children. In total, this is over 18,000 people killed or injured.
The figures are difficult to verify due to differing reports coming out of both Russia and Ukraine. The UN OHCHR anticipates that the numbers could be even higher.
The State of the Conflict
The war began on February 24th, 2022 and less than a year in, millions of people have been displaced by the conflict, and thousands of civilians have been injured or killed.
According to the UN, most of the civilian deaths have been caused by wide-ranging explosives such as heavy artillery shelling, missiles, and air strikes, and have been concentrated in Donetsk and Luhansk and in other territory still held by Ukraine.
Additionally, new estimates from Kyiv report approximately 13,000 Ukrainian military or soldier deaths, which has yet to be confirmed by the army.
Where does this data come from?
Source: The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights monthly reports on civilian deaths in Ukraine.
Note: Data on deaths and injuries can vary wildly depending on the source.
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