China's SMIC Becomes Third Largest Chip Foundry Amid Surging Q1 Growth

China's largest chipmaker, SMIC, has become the world's third-largest chip foundry in terms of revenue in the first quarter. SMIC held a 6% market share of global foundry revenue in the first quarter, overtaking GlobalFoundries and UMC of Taiwan. This places SMIC behind TSMC of Taiwan and Samsung Foundry of South Korea. SMIC reported a more than 19% increase in revenue for the first quarter, with over 80% coming from China. SMIC plays a critical role in China's goal of reducing dependence on foreign chip technology but still lags TSMC and Samsung in fabrication technology.