July 1, 2026 /SemiMedia/ — Global Foundry 2.0 revenue reached $86 billion in the first quarter of 2026, rising 23% year-on-year, according to Counterpoint Research’s latest foundry supply tracker.

The growth was mainly driven by strong demand for AI GPUs and AI ASICs, which increased demand for advanced-node wafers and raised utilization rates for advanced packaging capacity.

Counterpoint Research said the AI investment cycle is reshaping the semiconductor value chain and accelerating the industry’s transition toward the Foundry 2.0 era. Unlike traditional foundry models, Foundry 2.0 emphasizes the integration of wafer manufacturing, advanced packaging and testing.

As AI systems become more complex, packaging requirements are also increasing. Competitive advantage is no longer based only on process technology, but also on the ability to provide advanced packaging and foundry capacity at scale.

TSMC remained the main beneficiary of the AI-driven semiconductor cycle. Its first-quarter 2026 revenue growth accelerated to 41% year-on-year, supported by strong demand for AI GPUs, AI ASICs and advanced packaging.

Counterpoint Research expects this momentum to continue throughout the year, with TSMC’s full-year 2026 revenue projected to grow by about 36%.

Pure-play foundries excluding TSMC also recorded 9% year-on-year revenue growth in the first quarter. Mainland Chinese foundries continued to benefit from domestic semiconductor localization demand and structural price increases across 8-inch and 12-inch wafer nodes.

SMIC’s revenue increased 12% year-on-year, while Nexchip’s revenue grew 19%. Counterpoint Research expects these favorable industry dynamics to continue supporting sequential revenue growth for mainland Chinese foundries through 2026.

UMC and Vanguard International Semiconductor also delivered strong first-quarter results, with revenue rising 10% and 14% year-on-year, respectively. Growth was supported by recovering consumer electronics demand and continued strength in the power management IC market.

Counterpoint Research said UMC and VIS are well positioned to absorb residual orders as TSMC optimizes its mature-node capacity.

The mature-node market remains important. As TSMC allocates more resources to advanced nodes and advanced packaging, some mature-node customers may shift demand to UMC, VIS and other foundries. Power management ICs, display drivers, networking chips, automotive components and industrial analog chips continue to rely heavily on mature processes.

MediaTek could also become an important driver of wafer demand if it secures a larger share of Google TPU orders, along with other potential AI ASIC opportunities. AI ASICs are becoming a key path for cloud service providers and major technology companies seeking to optimize compute costs.

Industry analysts said AI is driving demand across both advanced and mature-node foundry markets. High-end AI chips require leading-edge process and packaging capacity, while AI servers, power systems, networking equipment and peripheral control chips continue to consume mature-node capacity.

As a result, foundry competition is shifting from process-node leadership alone toward broader capabilities across manufacturing, packaging, testing and supply chain integration.