Discussions around TSMC’s vertical DRAM patents raise an intriguing question: could the world’s leading foundry eventually challenge established memory manufacturers? The curiosity is understandable. Patent disclosures involving vertical transistors and integrated capacitors show that TSMC is exploring architectures… Read More
Applied Materials President and CEO Gary Dickerson with the EPIC Center founding partners on October 12, 2026, in Sunnyvale, CA. (Tomas Ovalle/AP Content Services for Applied Materials, Inc.)The bottlenecks are becoming interconnected
Artificial intelligence is changing what the semiconductor industry must deliver. … Read More
ASML is exploring how to produce more than 110 extreme ultraviolet lithography machines in 2028, reflecting the extraordinary investment flowing into artificial intelligence infrastructure. The Dutch semiconductor-equipment company expects to manufacture at least 80 EUV systems in 2027 and is considering another production… Read More
The global semiconductor market in the second quarter of 2026 was $368 billion, according to WSTS. 2Q 2026 set records for growth: up 35% from 1Q 2026 and up a phenomenal 104% from 2Q 2025. The previous record growth was set in 1Q 2026: up 25% from the prior quarter and up 79% from a year earlier.
Growth continues to be driven by AI. Memory… Read More
Intel is considering a return to memory technology decades after abandoning mainstream DRAM and, more recently, selling its NAND business. Chief executive Lip-Bu Tan has argued that memory should no longer be viewed simply as a low-margin commodity. Artificial intelligence is turning bandwidth, latency and data movement … Read More
Micron Technology has emerged as a critical supplier in the AI compute ecosystem, leveraging its leadership in advanced DRAM, High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), and NAND flash technologies to address rapidly growing demand from hyperscale data centers and AI accelerator platforms. The company’s strategic focus on leading-edge… Read More
The global semiconductor market grew 25% in the 1st quarter of 2026 from the 4th quarter of 2025 to reach $299 billion, according to WSTS. The 1st quarter of 2026 was up 79% from a year earlier. The 25% quarter-to-quarter growth was the highest in the over 40-year history of WSTS data, surpassing the 20% growth in the 2nd quarter of 2009.… Read More
Semiconductor Intelligence estimates total semiconductor industry capital spending (CapEx) was $166 billion in 2025, up 7% from 2024. We estimate 2026 CapEx will be $200 billion, up 20% from 2025. TSMC was the largest spender in 2024 with $40.9 billion in CapEx, 25% of the total. TSMC projects 2026 CapEx will be between $52 billion… Read More
The global semiconductor market in 2025 was $792 billion, according to WSTS. 2025 was up 25.6% from 2024, the strongest growth since 26.2% in the COVID recovery year 2021. The increase was driven by AI, with Nvidia revenues up 65%. The major memory companies (Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron Technology, Kioxia and Sandisk) all cited AI… Read More
The world semiconductor market was $208 billion in third-quarter 2025, according to WSTS. This marks the first time the market has been above $200 billion. 3Q 2025 was up 15.8% from 2Q 2025, the highest quarter-to-quarter growth since 19.9% in 2Q 2009. 3Q 2025 was up 25.1% from 3Q 2024, the highest growth versus a year earlier since… Read More
