06 · Key Players

Who controls each layer

The industry's power map is a set of near-monopolies and tight oligopolies. Here are the companies that matter — by where they sit in the chain and the leverage they hold.

6.1

The chokepoint monopolies

ASML

Netherlands · EUV lithography monopoly. ~32% of all litho equipment. No leading-edge chip exists without its tools. Central to export-control policy.

TSMC

Taiwan · ~70% of foundry revenue, ~all leading-edge logic, and the CoWoS packaging that gates AI GPU output. The system's biggest single point of dependence.

Synopsys + Cadence

USA · the EDA duopoly. No modern chip is designed without their software. Plus Arm (UK) for the underlying CPU IP.

6.2

By layer

— Equipment & materials

CompanyHQPosition
ASMLNetherlandsEUV/DUV lithography (monopoly on EUV)
Applied MaterialsUSABroadest front-end portfolio; deposition leader
Lam ResearchUSAEtch & deposition
Tokyo ElectronJapanEtch, deposition, coat/develop
KLAUSAProcess control & metrology leader

— Design (fabless) & IP

CompanyHQPosition
NvidiaUSA~75–80% of data-center AI accelerators; the demand engine
AMDUSA#2 in AI GPUs (Instinct) + CPUs
BroadcomUSACustom AI ASICs for hyperscalers; networking
QualcommUSAMobile SoCs, modems
AppleUSAIn-house silicon (largest TSMC customer)
MediaTekTaiwanMobile & consumer SoCs
ArmUKCPU instruction-set IP in most processors

— Manufacturing (foundry & IDM)

CompanyHQPosition
TSMCTaiwanLeading-edge foundry (~70% share)
SamsungKoreaFoundry #2 + memory leader (IDM)
IntelUSAIDM + Foundry ambitions (18A); CHIPS-backed
SMICChinaChina's leading foundry; 7nm without EUV
UMC / GlobalFoundriesTaiwan / USAMature & specialty nodes

— Memory

CompanyHQPosition
SK HynixKoreaHBM leader (~53% Q3'25); DRAM/NAND
SamsungKorea#1 memory overall; ~35% HBM
MicronUSA#3 DRAM/NAND; growing HBM

— Analog, power & automotive

CompanyHQPosition
Texas InstrumentsUSAAnalog leader
Analog DevicesUSAHigh-performance analog
InfineonGermanyPower & automotive leader
NXP / STMicro / RenesasNL / EU / JapanAuto, MCU, industrial
Emerging & to-watch The Information Beyond the incumbents, well-funded challengers are forming — e.g. Intel-backed SambaNova (reported to be raising at a ~$10B valuation) and a U.S.-backed chipmaking startup chaired by a former Intel CEO raising ~$350M — alongside China's Huawei Ascend, CXMT and the domestic equipment makers (NAURA, AMEC) central to localization.