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An integrated device manufacturer (IDM) is a semiconductor company that designs chips and manufactures them in its own facilities. The label describes a company’s role in the supply chain; it does not mean every chip or every production stage is handled in-house. Some IDMs also buy outside manufacturing capacity or make chips for other companies.

What does IDM mean?

IDM stands for integrated device manufacturer. In semiconductors, it refers to a company that combines chip design with in-house manufacturing. Intel describes an IDM as a company that “both designs and builds its own semiconductor chips” in its June 2021 explanation of its IDM 2.0 strategy. Samsung Semiconductor likewise describes the model as spanning semiconductor design through production of finished products.

“Integrated” signals that a company participates in more than one part of the business, not that it must own every step from design to finished, packaged chip. The precise boundary can vary by company, product and production stage.

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How is an IDM different from a fabless company or foundry?

The terms distinguish common operating roles in semiconductor production. They are useful models, but real companies may combine roles.

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The broader production chain can also include assembly, packaging and testing. A U.S. Department of Defense supply-chain review describes IDMs as vertically integrated across design, fabrication and packaging, while the fabless-foundry model assigns design, wafer manufacturing, and assembly, packaging and testing to separate firms. In practice, those stages may be divided differently; “manufacturing” should not be assumed to mean one company controls every step.

Can a company be an IDM and use outside foundries?

Yes. IDM describes a company’s capabilities and role, not a promise that all of its production comes from its own factories. Intel’s IDM 2.0 approach combines internal factories with external foundry capacity and foundry services for outside customers. Intel has also said it intended to use external capacity for some products while making most products in its own factories.

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Intel’s IDM 2.0 announcement therefore illustrates how internal production, outsourcing and customer manufacturing can coexist. An IDM can source some chips or production stages externally and still manufacture its own products.

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What is an internal foundry model?

A company can also apply foundry-style accounting and relationships between its own business units without ceasing to be vertically integrated. In a June 2023 update, Intel said its product groups would engage with its manufacturing group in a foundry-style relationship. The manufacturing group would have separate profit-and-loss reporting, with market-based pricing extended to internal business units. That describes an internal operating structure, not a change to the basic definition of an IDM.

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How to classify a semiconductor company

For a specific company, look beyond the label and check how its operations work. Company structures and sourcing choices can change, so current disclosures matter.

  1. Separate the production stages. Check who designs the chip, fabricates wafers, and handles assembly, packaging and testing. The stages may be split among different companies.
  2. Identify who uses the factories. Determine whether manufacturing capacity serves the company’s own product groups, external customers, or both.
  3. Check internal and external sourcing. A company may make most products internally while relying on external capacity for some products or stages. Review its current filings and disclosures rather than inferring sourcing from the IDM label.
  4. Look for customer foundry services. An IDM may manufacture its own chips and also sell production capacity to other companies.

Intel’s June 2023 internal foundry update and its SEC filing for 2022 illustrate why checking both operating arrangements and sourcing disclosures gives a more precise picture than relying on a category name alone.

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Industry figures are not a measure of IDM performance

Intel’s 2025 Intel Foundry fact sheet reports 3 trillion semiconductor units shipped globally in 2024, total semiconductor revenue of $626 billion in 2024, and AI semiconductor revenue of $84 billion in 2024, which it says grew 56% over 2023. These are Intel-published industry figures, not a count of IDMs or a comparison of their performance. Attribute them to Intel and retain the stated years when citing them.

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