Semiconductor capital spending this year is expected to reach US$152 billion this year, a 34% increase from 2020, according to market research firm IC Insights.
Spending in foundry __ the contract production of chips __ is expected to account for 35% of that total, or US$53 billion, the firm said.
It is a marked increase from the spending of US$37.3 billion in 2020 and US$26.2 billion in 2019, according to IC Insights’ data.
TSMC, the world’s largest foundry, will account for 57% of that spending this year with US$30 billion, IC Insights noted.
The Taiwanese chip giant had said earlier that it plans to spend US$100 billion for the next three years to expand its production capacity.
Samsung, the world’s second-largest foundry, has also announced that it plans to spend more on its logic businesses, which includes foundry, and is preparing to offer 3nm chips.
Intel and SMIC are also planning to build more foundry fabs to meet the increased demand for services.
IC Insights noted that fab and equipment for 7, 5 and 3nm processes are increasing, which indicates the increasing reliance on the foundry in the semiconductor industry.
