WIN Semiconductors rose to become largest merchant GaAs foundry in 2010

BOSTON, USA: The Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) device market recovered sharply in 2010, driven by increasing GaAs content in mobile handsets and growing data consumption.

The recently published Strategy Analytics GaAs and Compound Semiconductor Technologies Service report, “GaAs Device Vendor Market Share 2010: Asia-Pacific and Europe,” estimates that the GaAs device market grew by 35 percent from 2009 to reach nearly $5.5 billion of revenue.

Addressing GaAs vendors in Asia Pacific and Europe, this report concludes that the trend toward foundry outsourcing and the very rapid market recovery drove revenue growth at WIN Semiconductors in excess of the overall GaAs device market. This established WIN as the largest merchant GaAs foundry in the world and the largest GaAs device supplier in the Asia Pacific and Europe region. Of the top ten largest GaAs suppliers, Taiwan’s WIN Semiconductors is fifth and Japan’s Sumitomo Electric is eighth on the list.

“Pent-up demand from 2009 helped fuel the extraordinary growth of the GaAs industry in 2010, increasing GaAs content in mobile phones,” noted Eric Higham, director of Strategy Analytics GaAs and Compound Semiconductor Technologies Service. “Demand picked up much faster than captive foundries could increase capacity. This, coupled with the increasing trend toward outsourcing propelled pure-play foundries in Asia Pacific, is the key to strong growth.”

Asif Anwar, director, Strategy Analytics Strategic Technologies Practice added: “Consolidation at large Japanese electronics companies like Renesas Electronics and Sumitomo Electric continued in 2010. Strategy Analytics expects renewed growth in this region.”