The Top Companies Behind the Semiconductor Supply Chain
From over $500 billion today, semiconductors are expected to be a $1 trillion industry within a decade. Behind these eye-grabbing figures lies one of the most complex supply chains in the world, with major economies and hundreds of companies vying for a piece of the trillion dollar pie.
emiconductors power everything from smartphones and cars to AI and the internet, making them extremely valuable. From over $500 billion today, microchips are expected to be a $1 trillion industry within a decade. Behind these eye-grabbing figures lies one of the most complex supply chains in the world, with major economies and hundreds of companies vying for a piece of the trillion dollar pie.
Where are the leading semiconductor companies located?
Semiconductors, also called microchips or integrated circuits (ICs), are materials with electrical conductivity that can be controlled and manipulated in various ways, making them essential components in electronics. US, European, and Japanese firms capture most of the market share and value-add in creating cutting edge chips, but China leads in producing raw materials used in semiconductors—such as germanium and gallium.
The following list includes industry leading firms in China across various aspects of the semiconductor supply chain— from wafer and design companies, to assembly, testing, and packaging companies. While not a comprehensive list, these are some of the largest and most well-recognized semiconductor firms in China.
10 of China’s Top Semiconductor Companies
- Registered Location: Cayman Islands
- Office location: Shanghai, PRC
- Registered Capital: CN¥305.1B
- About: SMIC is a Chinese semiconductor foundry that manufactures wafers and integrated circuits (ICs). The company is the largest contract chip maker in China. SMIC Group is headquartered in Shanghai, with branches in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In December 2020, the U.S. Commerce Department added SMIC and multiple of its subsidiaries and affiliates to the Entity List for participation in China's military-civil fusion (MCF) program and the Chinese military industrial complex.
- Registered Location: Hong Kong
- Year Founded: 2005
- About: Hua Hong Semiconductor Limited is a member of Huahong Group (上海华虹(集团)), a Shanghai-based integrated circuit (IC) manufacturer with advanced "8-inch + 12-inch" production technologies. The company focuses on embedded non-volatile memory ("eNVM"), power discrete, analog & power management, and logic & RF. Hua Hong Semiconductor also provides sales and technical support in North America, Taiwan region, Europe, and Japan. The company has been listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market as "688347" since August 2023. The Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (上海市国有资产监督管理委员会) is the actual controller of Hua Hong Semiconductor Limited.
- Registered Location: Hubei, PRC
- Registered Capital: CN¥64.71B
- Year Founded: 2016
- About: Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) is one of China's largest memory chip producers. The company focuses on the design and manufacturing of 3D NAND flash memory wafers and packaged chips, and its products are used in mobile devices, consumer electronics, computers, servers, and data centers. In December 2022, the US Department of Commerce added the company to the Entity List for posing a risk of diverting controlled items to sanctioned entities, including Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., and Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd. The company reportedly violated US export controls by supplying chips to Huawei, according to press reports from September 2022. In April 2023, US public relations firm Ruder Finn registered as an agent of Yangtze in the US under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
- Registered Location: Anhui, PRC
- Year Founded: 2017
- Registered Capital: CN¥23.89B
- About: Changxin Memory Technologies is one of China's largest and most advanced developers of DRAM memory chips. The company, founded in 2017, is based in Anhui province. Changxin reportedly sought to delay its initial public offering (IPO) plans to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, according to press reports in November 2023. Among Changxin's beneficial owners are several government-owned entities and investment vehicles in Anhui province, including Hefei Haiheng Investment Holding Corporation and Anhui Provincial People's Government State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
- Registered Location: Tianjin, PRC
- Registered Capital: CN¥2.32B
- Year Founded: 2014
- About: Hygon is a high-performance processor manufacturer, whose business covers the design, manufacturing and production of chips.
- Registered Location: Guangdong, PRC
- Year Founded: 2004
- Registered Capital: CN¥2B
- About: HiSilicon Technologies is the fabless chipmaking arm of Huawei. The company grew out of Huawei's Integrated Circuit (IC) Design Center. HiSilicon Technologies is a provider of semiconductor products and smart devices that are applied in smart cities, smart homes, and smart mobility solutions.
- Registered Location: Hebei, PRC
- Registered Capital: CN¥849.61M
- About: Unigroup Guoxin Microelectronics was founded by Tsinghua Unigroup (紫光集团有限公司) in 2001. The company develops chips for digital security, quantum computing, intelligent computing, power and power management, high-reliability integrated circuits and other businesses. The company had over 3.27 billion yuan of revenue in 2020.
- Registered Location: Shanghai, PRC
- Registered Capital: CN¥616.24M
- Year Founded: 2004
- About: Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. ("AMEC") manufactures micro-fabrication equipment used in the production of nano-scale devices, particularly for the semiconductor industry. AMEC also provides semiconductor technology services. In January 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense identified AMEC as a Chinese Military company operating in the United States.
- Registered Location: Beijing, PRC
- Year Founded: 2008
- Registered Capital: CN¥401M
- About: Loongson Technology Corporation Limited manufactures and distributes chips. The Company is an up and coming Chinese chipmaker specializing in chip design, CPU instruction set architecture (LoongArch), IP processor, and developing the Loongnix operating system. Loongson was added to the U.S. Entity List on March 2, 2023.
- Registered Location: Shandong, PRC
- Registered Capital: CN¥60M
- Year Founded: 2007
- About: GoerTek produces semiconductor components and finished electronic products. These include micro-acoustic sensors, micro-display modules and camera modules, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), smart wearables, smart audio, intelligent robots, drones and other digital-era hardwares. Goertek has R&D and marketing centers in the U.S., Denmark, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Who are the top semiconductor companies at each step of the supply chain?
Though Chinese firms dominate raw material production and Chinese challengers are making rapid progress in advanced fabrication and design processes, many industry leading firms are located in the US, Europe, Japan, and South Korea. The following interactive infographic details these companies by their focus in the semiconductor supply chain, featuring links to company profiles in WireScreen.
Tracking Semiconductor Firms in WireScreen
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