UMC founded in 1980 as Taiwan's first semiconductor company. UMC is a leading global semiconductor foundry that provides advanced technology and manufacturing services for applications spanning every major sector of the IC industry. UMC’s commercial semiconductor industry is in Taiwan, which was the first local company to offer foundry services, as well as the first semiconductor company to list on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. UMC's core services as a pure play foundry involve delivering the world's leading-edge technology through advanced research & development while providing the most advanced manufacturing capabilities. The leading-edge foundry technologies of UMC includes the first foundry to ship wafers using copper materials, to produce chips on 300mm wafers, to deliver functional 65-nanometer ICs to its customers, and to produce chips using 28-nanometer process technology. All of them enable the creation of faster and more powerful chips to meet today's demanding applications. UMC is responsible for many local industry innovations, including the introduction of the employee share bonus system, often credited as a primary factor in the development of a prominent electronics industry in Taiwan. Now UMC is a founding member of the GSA and participates in the PFI, X-Initiative, SEMATECH, RAPID (Reusable Application-Specific Intellectual Property Developers), and VCX (Virtual Component Exchange).
