United Microelectronics Corporation was founded as Taiwan’s first semiconductor company in 1980 as a spin-off of the government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). UMC was the first foundry to produce chips on 300 mm wafers, ship wafers using copper materials, to sell 65 nm IC’s to customers, and to produce chips using 28 nm process technology. UMC was the first Taiwanese company to offer foundry services and the first semiconductor company to be listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in 1985.
