Taipei: Taiwan is projected to become the third-largest spender on semiconductor equipment globally in 2025 and 2026, trailing only China and South Korea, according to SEMI, a global electronics manufacturing and design supply chain association.
According to Focus Taiwan, SEMI's recent statement highlights the robust demand for fab equipment in Taiwan, which underscores the commitment of Taiwanese semiconductor suppliers to advance high-end chip technologies and expand their capacity to maintain a competitive edge in the global market. Taiwan's semiconductor sector is forecasted to invest US$21.0 billion and US$24.5 billion in fab equipment in 2025 and 2026, respectively. This investment is primarily driven by the rising demand for artificial intelligence applications across cloud services and edge devices.
China is anticipated to lead the global spending with US$38.0 billion on fab equipment in 2025, a decrease of 24 percent from the previous year, and an additional US$36.0 billion in 2026, marking a 5 percent year-over-year decline, according to SEMI. Despite the reduction, China will remain the top spender, followed by South Korea, which is expected to allocate US$21.5 billion in 2025 and US$27.0 billion in 2026 as AI technology boosts memory adoption, prompting investments in capacity expansion and technology upgrades.
SEMI projects that the Americas will rank fourth with estimated spending of US$14.0 billion in 2025 and US$20.0 billion in 2026. The global fab equipment spending is expected to grow by 2 percent in 2025, reaching US$110 billion, marking the sixth consecutive year of growth. This figure is anticipated to increase by 18 percent to US$130 billion in 2026.
SEMI's forecasts reflect strong demand in high-performance computing and memory sectors aimed at data center expansion, as well as the growing integration of AI applications, which is increasing the silicon content required for edge devices.