A key driver is the expansion of advanced process capacity (7nm and below), which is expected to increase by approximately 69% – from 850,000 wpm in 2024 to 1.4 million wpm in 2028 – at a CAGR of around 14%.
Capex on advanced process equipment is forecast to grow to over $50 billion by 2028 up 94% from the $26 billion of 2024 at a CAGR of 18%
2nm and below capacity will expand from less than 200 thousand wpm in 2025 to over 500 thousand wpm by 2028. Investment in 2nm and below wafer equipment will rise from $19 billion in 2024 to $43 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 120%.
2nm technology is projected to reach mass production by 2026 and will followed by the commercial deployment of 1.4 nm technology in 2028.
“AI continues to be a transformative force in the global semiconductor industry, driving significant expansion of advanced manufacturing capacity,” says SEMI CEO Ajit Manocha, “the rapid proliferation of AI applications is stimulating robust investment across the semiconductor ecosystem, underscoring the industry’s pivotal role in fostering technology innovation and meeting the surging demand for advanced chips.”
Beyond the demand for increasingly powerful training capabilities to support larger AI model architectures, AI is also enabling advances in VR, AR and humanoid robots.
