What Semiconductor Manufacturing International does

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) is China's largest pure-play semiconductor foundry and the second-largest pure-play wafer foundry worldwide, founded in April 2000 and dual-listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00981) and Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market (688981). The company provides one-stop wafer fabrication services on 8-inch and 12-inch platforms across process nodes ranging from 0.35μm to advanced 7nm/5nm-class, with mass production of leading-edge nodes achieved via DUV multi-patterning rather than EUV lithography. SMIC operates fabs in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, and Shenzhen, plus regional sales offices in the United States (San Jose), Europe (Milan), Japan (Tokyo), and Taiwan, with end-2025 monthly capacity exceeding 1.059 million standard logic 8-inch equivalent wafers.

SMIC generates revenue primarily through custom wafer foundry manufacturing services (hardware sales of fabricated IC wafers) supplemented by technology services including design support, IP ecosystem access, multi-project wafer shuttle services, and backend turnkey services (bumping, wafer-level packaging, testing, mask manufacturing). The company offers eight specialized process platforms (Analog&Power, DDIC, IGBT, eNVM, NVM, Mixed Signal&RF, IoT Solutions, Automotive) addressing power management, display drivers, memory, RF, IoT, and automotive-grade (IATF 16949 / AEC-Q100) applications. Its IP ecosystem combines 1,000+ internal IPs with 800+ third-party IPs from 50+ vendors. Pricing is quote-based and negotiated per project through direct enterprise field sales, not publicly disclosed. 2025 revenue was $9.327 billion, up 16.2% YoY, with 87.6% of Q4 2025 sales concentrated in China and key customers including Huawei (Kirin/Ascend), Cambricon, and the DeepSeek/ByteDance/Baidu domestic AI chip ecosystem.

Name

Semiconductor Manufacturing International

Legal name

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation

Website

http://www.smics.com/en/

Company type

Public

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

SMIC is China's largest pure-play semiconductor foundry, providing 8-inch and 12-inch wafer fabrication from 0.35μm to 7nm/5nm-class nodes. It serves AI, automotive, consumer electronics, and IoT customers globally, with manufacturing in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, and Shenzhen and 87.6% of sales concentrated in China.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Semiconductor Foundry Services

NAICS

Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing (33441)

SIC

Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674)

akta.pro primary industry

Logic Foundries (Advanced Nodes) (HDAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

R&D / Prototyping & MPW Shuttle Foundries (HDAHACAI), Foundry Platform & Design Enablement Services (PDK/DFM/Process Qualification) (HDAHACAJ), Test Services (Wafer Sort, Final Test, Burn-In) (HDAHADAD)

Keywords

• Semiconductor foundry services
• Wafer fabrication
• Integrated circuit manufacturing
• Advanced process nodes
• Chip design services

Headquarters

HQ city

Shanghai

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Wafer Foundry Services: SMIC generates the majority of its revenue from manufacturing and selling semiconductor integrated circuit wafers on 8-inch and 12-inch platforms. Revenue increased 16.2% year-over-year to $9,327 million in 2025, driven by AI-related and automotive chip demand. The company shipped approximately 9.7 million wafers in 2025.
2. Technology Services: SMIC provides technology services including design services, IP ecosystem, tape-out/assembly/testing, and backend turnkey services. The company maintains an IP ecosystem with over 1,000 internal IPs and relationships with 50+ third-party IP suppliers offering 800+ IPs covering foundry libraries, analog/mixed-signal IP, high-speed interface IP, embedded processors, DSP, NVMs, and RF IP.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SMIC is a pure-play semiconductor foundry that manufactures integrated circuit wafers on 8-inch and 12-inch platforms across technology nodes ranging from 0.35µm to advanced 7nm and 5nm-class, using DUV lithography with multi-patterning. Its core offering includes eight specialized process platforms (Analog&Power, DDIC, IGBT, eNVM, NVM, Mixed Signal&RF, IoT Solutions, and Automotive), complemented by backend turnkey services (bumping, wafer-level packaging, testing), mask manufacturing, multi-project wafer shuttles, and design services supported by an IP ecosystem with 1,000+ internal and 800+ third-party IPs.

Product overview

SMIC offers a unified wafer foundry platform with multiple specialized technology platforms and comprehensive backend services. The core offering includes 8-inch and 12-inch wafer fabrication across technology nodes from 28nm to 0.35um and above. Eight specialized process platforms—Analog&Power, DDIC, IGBT, eNVM, NVM, Mixed Signal&RF, IoT Solutions, and Automotive—address specific application domains from power management to automotive electronics. Supporting services include Backend Turnkey Services (bumping, packaging, testing), Mask Operation, Multi-Project Wafer services, Design Services with IP Ecosystem, and the SMIC Now online customer portal. The portfolio is delivered through fabrication facilities in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, and Shenzhen, with global marketing offices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Foundry Solutions (8-inch and 12-inch Wafer Fabrication) Core wafer fabrication services providing 8-inch and 12-inch semiconductor manufacturing across multiple technology nodes from 0.35µm to 7nm/5nm-class, serving fabless chip designers and integrated device manufacturers globally with one-stop foundry solutions.
• Analog&Power Process Platform Power and analog technology platform based on low-power logic processes, featuring bipolar transistors, high-voltage LDMOS, precision analog passive devices, and eFuse/OTP/MTP non-volatile memory, targeting smartphones, tablets, battery management, DC-DC, AC-DC, PMIC, fast chargers, motor controllers, and automotive applications.
• DDIC Process Platform High-voltage process platform for display panel driver ICs that control LCD and AMOLED panel switching and display, serving computer, consumer electronics, and wireless communications display applications.
• IGBT Process Platform Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor process platform offering high input impedance, low conduction voltage drop, fast switching, and high current density, used in industrial frequency conversion, white goods, rail transit, electric vehicles, smart grids, wind power, and solar energy applications.
• eNVM Process Platform Embedded non-volatile memory process platform supporting one-time programmable (OTP), multi-time programmable (MTP), EEPROM, and embedded flash technologies, serving smart cards, microprocessors, and IoT applications with high performance, low power consumption, and excellent durability.
• NVM Process Platform Non-volatile memory technology including ET OX NOR flash memory solutions for communication, data processing, consumer electronics, and industrial electronics applications, delivering low cost, low power, high reliability, and durability.
• Mixed Signal&RF Process Platform Mixed signal/RF process technology compatible with logic processes, providing accurate RF SPICE models and complete PDK toolkits for RF and wireless connectivity chips used in consumer electronics, communications, computers, and IoT.
• IoT Solutions Process Platform Complete one-stop IoT process, manufacturing, and chip design services platform supporting smart home, energy, security, industrial robotics, wearables, automotive, transportation, logistics, agriculture, healthcare, and medical applications with ultra-low power logic, RF, and embedded flash technologies.
• Automotive Process Platform Automotive electronics process platform compliant with IATF 16949 quality management standards and AEC-Q100 testing requirements, serving automotive electronics in powertrain, safety, and body electronics applications with zero-defect manufacturing goals.
• Backend Turnkey Service One-stop backend services including bumping (solder bump, copper pillar, fan-out), wafer-level packaging, chip-scale packaging, various packaging forms, testing services, and on-chip color filter and micro lens manufacturing delivered through a partner network.
• Mask Operation (Photomask Manufacturing) Photomask manufacturing services using Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) technology for binary chrome masks and phase shift masks, supporting 5"x5" and 6"x6" masks on G-line, I-line, DUV, and ArF steppers and scanners.
• Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) Service Service allowing customers to share photomasks and engineering wafers to reduce prototype costs, covering logic, mixed signal/RF circuits, EEPROM, and embedded flash, with up to six shuttle services per month.
• Design Service Comprehensive design support including process/PDK documentation, IP design/services/maturity, application platforms, customer application support, reference design flows, and tape-out/assembly/testing services for fabless chip designers.
• IP Ecosystem IP ecosystem with over 50 IP vendors and 800+ third-party IPs including foundry libraries, analog/mixed-signal IP, high-speed interface IP, embedded processors/DSP, embedded NVMs, and RF IP, complemented by 1,000+ internal IPs and IP lifecycle management systems.
• SMIC Now Online Customer Portal Online customer portal providing six major services: sales support, technical documentation access, design services documentation, quality and reliability reporting, production tracking (wafer WIP, mask WIP, lot history), and logistics management available 24/7 for registered foundry customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Revenue increased 16.2% YoY to $9.33 billion in 2025
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and minor.

• Huawei TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 May 2026Huawei and SMIC have a deep strategic manufacturing partnership. Huawei uses SMIC as its primary foundry for Kirin chips and Ascend AI processors. Huawei's Tau Scaling Law 'LogicFolding' architecture is manufactured at SMIC, with 381 chips already designed and mass-produced using this framework over six years of collaboration. SMIC shares rallied nearly 6% following Huawei's LogicFolding announcement, with SMIC positioned as a key beneficiary of Huawei's semiconductor self-sufficiency push.
• ByteDancekeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerByteDance (owner of TikTok) is reportedly in talks with SMIC ecosystem partners including Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX and Baidu for AI chip production deals. As China's biggest chip foundry, SMIC stands to benefit from these domestic deals as the global AI boom drives orders to Chinese foundries amid a shortage in mature-node semiconductors.
• DeepSeekkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeepSeek released its V4 foundational model optimized to run on Huawei Ascend 950 chips (manufactured by SMIC), marking a milestone in China's push for AI self-sufficiency. DeepSeek's V4 was trained on Huawei's Ascend AI processors, and the company is raising funds from Tencent and Alibaba at a $20 billion valuation.
• SMIC North (Semiconductor Manufacturing North China Corp)coreOthersSMIC acquired the remaining 49% equity stake in SMIC North from five shareholders including the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund in a transaction valued at approximately $5.9 billion. Following the deal, SMIC achieved 100% ownership of SMIC North, which provides 12-inch wafer fabrication services, making it the largest merger and acquisition deal in China's wafer foundry industry to date.
• Taiwan Ministry of Economic AffairsminorOthersTaiwan added SMIC and Huawei to its trade blacklist on June 14, 2025, requiring Taiwanese companies to obtain government licenses to ship to these firms. This marked Taiwan's first use of its blacklist to sanction major Chinese firms, aligning more closely with US technology policy and plugging gaps that allowed Chinese firms to access critical components via indirect routes.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC): A Taiwan-based pure-play foundry serving similar customer segments (AI, automotive, IoT, consumer) with comparable process node offerings. UMC is the third-largest pure-play foundry globally and a direct competitor in mature and mid-range nodes where SMIC is strong.
• Tower Semiconductor: A specialty foundry (now under Intel ownership) focusing on RF, analog, power management, and MEMS processes. Tower's specialty-process focus mirrors SMIC's Analog&Power, Mixed Signal&RF, and IoT platforms, making it a direct competitor in those segments.
• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC): The world's largest pure-play wafer foundry, offering 8-inch and 12-inch wafer fabrication across advanced and mature nodes. TSMC is SMIC's most direct competitor for global foundry customers and the benchmark against which SMIC's process technology, yields, and margins are measured.
• Hua Hong Semiconductor: China-based pure-play foundry specializing in mature-node and specialty processes (eNVM, analog, power discretes). Hua Hong is SMIC's closest domestic competitor and the most directly comparable Chinese pure-play foundry by business model and customer overlap.
• GlobalFoundries: A US-headquartered pure-play foundry with similar business model (fab-only wafer manufacturing across multiple nodes). Competes with SMIC in mature-node specialty processes (RF, BCD, eNVM) and automotive/industrial segments where SMIC's specialty platforms are positioned.
• Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS): A Taiwan-based specialty pure-play foundry focused on power management, display driver ICs, and analog/mixed-signal processes — directly overlapping with several of SMIC's specialty platforms (Analog&Power, DDIC, Mixed Signal&RF).

Emerging players

• Intel Foundry Services (IFS): Intel's externally-facing foundry business, building capacity to compete with TSMC and Samsung in leading-edge nodes. IFS is an emerging player rather than a mature foundry, but represents an additional competitor for advanced-node wafer contracts globally.
• Nexchip (Hefei Crystal Bright Technology): A Chinese 12-inch wafer foundry focused on display driver ICs and consumer/IoT chips, increasingly expanding into logic and AI-adjacent processes. Nexchip is an emerging Chinese-domestic peer competing for some of the same customers and policy support as SMIC.

Broad incumbents

• Samsung Foundry (Samsung Electronics Device Solutions): The foundry arm of Samsung's broader semiconductor business, offering advanced and mature node wafer fabrication. Competes with SMIC for global foundry customers but operates within a much larger memory + logic conglomerate, with EUV access that SMIC lacks.

Regional players

• Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing (PSMC): A Taiwan-based foundry with mature-node logic and memory-focused wafer manufacturing. PSMC is comparable in process-node portfolio and customer segments but primarily serves Taiwanese and Asian customers, with less direct competition in China.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smic

Compliance10 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors20 records

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M&A2 records

Investments25 records

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Frequently asked questions about Semiconductor Manufacturing International