China's largest chipmaker SMIC is now the No. 3 foundry in the world, Counterpoint says

China's largest chipmaker SMIC is now the world's third-largest foundry in terms of revenue in the first quarter, according to Counterpoint Research.

State-backed SMIC, or Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co., held a market share of 6% in the first quarter— up from 5% last year, the report showed. It overtook GlobalFoundries and Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corporation.

This places SMIC behind only Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and South Korea's Samsung Foundry which held 62% and 13% of market share in the first quarter respectively.

"SMIC's quarterly results surpassed market expectations, and the company secured the No. 3 position in foundry revenue market share in Q1 2024 for the first time, as demand recovery begins in China, including CIS, PMIC, IoT, and DDIC applications," showed the Counterpoint Research report published Wednesday.

Chips made by SMIC are found in automobiles, smartphones, computers, IoT technologies and more.

SMIC reported first-quarter revenue was $1.75 billion, up 19.7% from a year earlier, as customers stocked up on chips. More than 80% of its revenue in the quarter were derived from customers in China, the firm said in its earnings report.

In the second quarter, the Chinese firm expects revenue to increase by 5% to 7% from the first quarter on strong demand.

China consumes nearly 50% of the world's semiconductors as it is the biggest assembly market for consumer devices, according to data from tech consultancy Omdia.

SMIC is seen as critical to Beijing's hopes of reducing dependence on foreign technology in its domestic semiconductor industry as the U.S. continues to curb China's tech power. To boost domestic manufacturing, Beijing has pumped billions of yuan in subsidies into