Capital · United States

Interview: SEMI CEO sees US$3 trillion chip industry by 2035, as trusted partners reshape supply chain

Reading from TheElec · Credited to DigiTimes $ · digitimes.com · 1h ago

Photograph · DigiTimes

"Let's toast to $1 trillion and beyond."

Joe Stockunas, president of SEMI Americas, proposed the toast at the opening ceremony of SEMICON West 2026 at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Oct. 13. The celebration marked the first time cumulative global semiconductor market revenue had surpassed $1 trillion in the first eight months of a year.

Ajit Manocha, president and chief executive officer of SEMI, predicted when he took office in 2017 that the semiconductor market would reach $1 trillion by 2030. The market crossed that threshold this year, about four years ahead of his forecast, reaching the milestone in just eight months rather than a full year. SEMI expects annual semiconductor market revenue to reach $1.5 trillion in 2026.

"When I predicted the semiconductor market would reach $1 trillion by 2030, everyone said, 'What are you talking about?'" Manocha said. "Two years later, many people began to agree." Actual growth has been much faster than market expectations, he added.

"The market could reach $2 trillion to $3 trillion by 2035," Manocha said. "It took 50 years to reach $500 billion, but only five years to reach $1 trillion." He added that anything could happen over the next five years.

Manocha cited investment in new semiconductor fabrication plants, or fabs, and data center expansion as key drivers of market growth. A total of 102 fabs are targeted to begin operations by 2029, with 82 already under construction. There are currently 479 operating data centers, with another 77 planned. Fab expansion is expected to increase demand not only for equipment but also for materials and packaging.

SEMICON West 2026 runs from Oct. 13 to 15 at the South and North Halls of Moscone Center in San Francisco. The event features more than 1,500 booths and over 500 speakers across more than 60 presentation sessions. Organizers expect attendance to exceed 35,000 this year.

Next year's SEMICON West will take place from March 30 to April 1, 2027, at the Phoenix Convention Center in Arizona. SEMI said it moved the event to an earlier date to avoid conflicts with global exhibitions concentrated in the second half of the year. The venue was also relocated to Phoenix, home to numerous semiconductor fabs, to strengthen ties with the local industry ecosystem.

Chips & SupplyUnited States

Longest Chip Selloff Since 2006 Mints Short Sellers $32 Billion

Credited to Bloomberg$ · bloomberg.com1h ago

Useful

A historic rout in semiconductor stocks has delivered a windfall for short sellers who were brave enough to bet against what had been one of the highest flying corners of the US equity market for much of the last year.

View the article · $Bloomberg

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Capital · United States

AI datacenter capex will far exceed forecast revenue through 2030

Credited to Network World · networkworld.com · 3h ago

Photograph · Network World

Investors are pouring more into AI data center infrastructure than they can hope to recoup by 2030, according to Gartner.

“Enterprise and consumer AI revenue will be insufficient to support profitable returns on all planned AI capital expenditures during this period,” said Gartner Senior Director Analyst Will Sommer.

AI data center owners would need to generate $8.5 trillion in revenue through 2030 to cover announced capital spending, financing costs and expected investment returns, he said. “However, total enterprise and consumer AI revenue that can be attributed to AI data centers during this period is forecast to reach no more than $3.6 trillion.”

Gartner joins a growing chorus warning that major AI players may be over-committing themselves. Bain and Co. recently made a similar forecast, estimating that annual spending on AI infrastructure could reach $1.5 trillion by 2031 and that the AI services market would need to top $6 trillion annually to pay for it.

This is particularly bad news for neocloud providers, said Gartner. While the hyperscalers are large enough to absorb the financial pressures, the research company suggests that the cost pressure will force more than 80% of neocloud providers to cease independent operations.

The Bain and Gartner surveys don’t cover quite the same ground, but their conclusions are very similar: a lot of AI infrastructure investment is never going to make a return, and companies need to prepare themselves for some degree of financial loss.