Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. extended its dominance of the contract chipmaking industry in the second quarter, capturing 71% of the pure-play foundry market while Samsung Electronics saw its share shrink for a second consecutive period.
TSMC’s market position strengthened as the overall foundry sector expanded 33% year-over-year, driven by surging artificial intelligence chip demand and Chinese government subsidies, according to Counterpoint Research data released Thursday. The Taiwanese company’s share climbed 3 percentage points from the first quarter and jumped 6 points from the same period last year.
Samsung maintained second place with 8% of the market, though that represents a decline of 1 percentage point from the previous quarter and 2 points year-over-year. The Seoul-based manufacturer benefited from recovering smartphone and consumer electronics demand, Counterpoint noted, but that wasn’t enough to offset losses in other segments.
TSMC’s gains stem from ramping up production of 3-nanometer chips and high utilization rates for its 4-nanometer and 5-nanometer processes, which are used for AI graphics processors. The company’s advanced CoWoS packaging technology, critical for stacking chips together, gives it an edge competitors struggle to match at scale.
China’s SMIC ranked third with 5% share, down 1 percentage point, while Taiwan’s UMC held 5% and GlobalFoundries captured 4%. Counterpoint expects foundry utilization rates and wafer shipments to keep rising through year-end.
