Due to Covid-19 pandemic, there’s currently a global shortage of semiconductors. These are essentially small electric conductors, also referred to as chips. Semiconductors are widely used across electric and electronic devices. They are there inside cars, planes, computers, smartphones, Wi-Fi devices, Bluetooth devices, appliances, medical devices and various other products, parts and components. Semiconductors are essentially the key to technology growth in 21st century and beyond. Here’s a quick look at some of the largest producers of semiconductors in the world.
Micron Technology, Inc. – Founded in 1978, Micron Technology, Inc. is headquartered in Boise, Idaho. The company manufactures products such as flash memory, USB flash drives, and random-access memory. Some of the popular brands owned by the company include Crucial and Ballistix. Annual revenue in 2020 was at US$ 21.44 billion.
Qualcomm – Founded in 1985, Qualcomm is headquartered in San Diego, California. The company manufactures semiconductors and also offers related software and services. Qualcomm holds various patents across telecom networks such as WCDMA, CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA, 4G and 5G. The company has specialization in manufacturing telecom equipment. It also manufactures semiconductor components for automobiles and electronic devices. Annual revenue in 2020 was at US$ 23.53 billion.
Broadcom Inc. – Founded in 1961, Broadcom Inc. is headquartered in San Jose, California. The company manufactures a wide range of semiconductor products and also offers related software and services. Its offerings cater to various industry segments such as wireless communication, broadband, networking, data center and data storage. Broadcom Inc. came into being after the merger of Avago Technologies and Broadcom Limited. Annual revenue in 2020 was at US$ 23.89 billion.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited (TSMC) – Founded in 1987, TSMC is headquartered in Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan. It is among the largest companies in Taiwan. It is considered to be the most valuable semiconductor company in the world, supplying around 50% of the world’s requirement for semiconductors. Its semiconductor foundry is the largest of its kind in the world. The company is listed on Taiwan Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange. The company is largely owned by foreign investors. Annual revenue in 2020 was at US$ 47.95 billion.
Intel – Founded in 1968, Intel Corporation is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. In terms of revenue, Intel is the largest semiconductor chip manufacturer in the world. Its annual revenue in 2020 was US$ 77.87 billion. The company manufactures a wide range of products such as microprocessors, motherboard chipsets, flash memory, network interface controllers, systems-on-chip (SoCs), integrated graphics processing units (iGPU) and central processing units (CPU). Intel is among the primary suppliers to companies like Dell, HP and Lenovo.