Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) remained the world’s third-largest IC supplier in the first quarter of this year, while MediaTek Inc (聯發科) was the industry’s 10th-largest firm, moving up six spots from the previous quarter, advisory firm IC Insights said on Tuesday.
Contract chipmaker TSMC posted sales of US$12.91 billion, up 25 percent from a year earlier, IC Insights said in a report.
TSMC benefited from strong global demand for emerging technologies such as 5G applications, and high-performance computing and Internet of Things devices, the report said.
Photo: Bloomberg
Sales at MediaTek, Taiwan’s largest IC designer, grew 90 percent year-on-year to US$3.85 billion, it said.
On the back of strong shipments of 5G chips, MediaTek overtook six of its rivals, including Infineon Technologies AG of Germany, which posted US$3.25 billion in sales, and STMicroelectronics NV of Switzerland, which posted US$3.01 billion in sales, the report said.
MediaTek’s growth in the first quarter was the second-largest among companies in the ranking, behind Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) of the US, which advanced from 18th to 11th place on the back of a 93 percent sales increase to US$3.45 billion.
MediaTek and AMD replaced China’s HiSilicon Technologies Inc (海思半導體) and Japan’s Sony Corp in the top 15.
HiSilicon, which ranked 12th in last year’s ranking, is the semiconductor design division of telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co (華為), which accounts for more than 90 percent of its sales.
Since the fourth quarter of last year, US sanctions impeded HiSilicon from purchasing ICs from its main supplier, TSMC, the report said.
The worldwide largest IC firm was Intel Corp of the US, defending its top spot despite a year-on-year decline in sales of 4 percent to US$18.68 billion, it said.
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co remained in second place, posting sales of US$17.07 billion, up 15 percent from a year earlier, it said.
TSMC was trailed by South Korean DRAM chipmaker SK Hynix Inc in fourth place, posting sales of US$7.63 billion, the report said.
US firms ranked fifth to ninth: Micron Technology Co with US$6.58 billion in sales, Qualcomm Inc with US$6.28 billion, Broadcom Inc with US$4.84 billion, Nvidia Corp with US$4.63 billion and Texas Instruments Inc with US$4.03 billion, the report said.
Apple Inc ranked 13th with its chip division posting sales of US$3.08 billion, it said.
Japan’s Kioxia Corp claimed the last spot on the list with sales of US$2.59 billion, the report said.
The top 15 IC firms posted a combined US$101.86 billion in sales, up 21 percent from a year earlier, IC Insights said.
On Ireland’s blustery western seaboard, researchers are gleefully flying giant kites — not for fun, but in the hope of generating renewable electricity and sparking a “revolution” in wind energy. “We use a kite to capture the wind and a generator at the bottom of it that captures the power,” said Padraic Doherty of Kitepower, the Dutch firm behind the venture. At its test site in operation since September 2023 near the small town of Bangor Erris, the team transports the vast 60-square-meter kite from a hangar across the lunar-like bogland to a generator. The kite is then attached by a
Leading Taiwanese bicycle brands Giant Manufacturing Co (巨大機械) and Merida Industry Co (美利達工業) on Sunday said that they have adopted measures to mitigate the impact of the tariff policies of US President Donald Trump’s administration. The US announced at the beginning of this month that it would impose a 20 percent tariff on imported goods made in Taiwan, effective on Thursday last week. The tariff would be added to other pre-existing most-favored-nation duties and industry-specific trade remedy levy, which would bring the overall tariff on Taiwan-made bicycles to between 25.5 percent and 31 percent. However, Giant did not seem too perturbed by the
Foxconn Technology Co (鴻準精密), a metal casing supplier owned by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), yesterday announced plans to invest US$1 billion in the US over the next decade as part of its business transformation strategy. The Apple Inc supplier said in a statement that its board approved the investment on Thursday, as part of a transformation strategy focused on precision mold development, smart manufacturing, robotics and advanced automation. The strategy would have a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI), the company added. The company said it aims to build a flexible, intelligent production ecosystem to boost competitiveness and sustainability. Foxconn
TARIFF CONCERNS: Semiconductor suppliers are tempering expectations for the traditionally strong third quarter, citing US tariff uncertainty and a stronger NT dollar Several Taiwanese semiconductor suppliers are taking a cautious view of the third quarter — typically a peak season for the industry — citing uncertainty over US tariffs and the stronger New Taiwan dollar. Smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科技) said that customers accelerated orders in the first half of the year to avoid potential tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump’s administration. As a result, it anticipates weaker-than-usual peak-season demand in the third quarter. The US tariff plan, announced on April 2, initially proposed a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese goods. Its implementation was postponed by 90 days to July 9, then
RSS