IC Insights released a report on Monday identifying the world's top foundries in 2007. Of course the two Taiwanese pure-play foundry giants TSMC and UMC were at the top of the list. According to IC Insights:
The "Big 4" (TSMC, UMC, Chartered, and SMIC) have dominated the foundry market over the past five years. With sales of almost $10 billion, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) was clearly the leading foundry supplier in 2007. Its revenue increased 1% over 2006. TSMC's sales were only 11% less than the combined foundry sales of the other companies listed in the top 14 ranking.
A third Taiwanese pure-play foundry, Vanguard, was ranked the eighth largest.
Fabless companies, and especially pure-play foundries, will have an increasingly important role to play in the future. Fabs are expensive and being able to outsource IC production to minimize costs is becoming essential. The fabless IC design business model is already well established. According to the press release:
Large companies and an increasing number of mid-size companies are ditching their fabs in favor of the fabless business model. Companies in this category include LSI and Avago (ex-Agilent), which have all become fabless in the past few years. Considering its 1Q08 financial results, AMD could be a company that is forced to go fab-lite or possibly completely fabless in the near future.
The press release is a good read and provides very basic insights into the mysterious world of the foundry business. The actual report would be more interesting but at US$2,790 a little beyond hitechtaipei's budget. If anyone wishes to purchase the multi-user corporate license for $5,990 and share with me, that would be great.
Press Release: IC Insights Ranks Top Foundry Suppliers
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