Industry Leaders Share Insights on Balancing Challenges and Opportunities

The annual semiconductor mega-event SEMICON Taiwan officially kicked off, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2025 with a major upgrade into a five-day International Semiconductor Week. Themed “Leading with Collaboration. Innovating with the World,” the exhibition is fueled by surging AI demand and is expected to draw 100,000 attendees from 56 countries. This year features a record 17 national pavilions and multiple bilateral cooperation meetings. The founding of the 3DIC Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Alliance, and—for the first time—the recognition of the“24 Rising Stars Under 40 in Semiconductors”, mark important milestones in the event.

In total, the program includes 25 international forums and 13 key technology topics, creating a comprehensive platform for global semiconductor ecosystem exchange. Industry leaders will share insights on semiconductor market trends under the AI wave and release critical industry data.

For the first time, SEMI is also partnering with the IC Taiwan Grand Challenge to establish the “Silicon Startups Zone,” showcasing cutting-edge technologies such as 5G/6G communications, post-quantum encryption, AI photonics, SiC power devices, Wi-Fi 7 RF integration, and wireless charging. This zone connects Taiwan’s complete supply chain with international investors, technology partners, and new markets—transforming technical dialogue into innovation incubation.

AI Fuels Record Semiconductor Equipment Investment, Taiwan Leads Global Growth

According to SEMI’s latest report, as AI applications expand from the cloud to edge and end devices, the global semiconductor equipment market is experiencing explosive growth.

The report highlights that AI and high-performance computing (HPC) equipment investments will drive the next wave, accounting for 40% of global semiconductor equipment spending in 2025 and surpassing 55% by 2030. The global market is projected to grow 7.4% year-on-year in 2025 to a record US$125 billion, and further to over US$138 billion in 2026.

Taiwan stands out in this investment surge: Taiwan’s semiconductor equipment investment is forecast to hit US$27.9 billion in 2025, nearly 70% year-on-year growth—outpacing South Korea (US$24.9B, +22%) and China (US$41.1B, slight decline). Taiwan’s strong momentum underscores its critical role in the global supply chain and injects powerful energy into future industry development.

Industry Leaders’ Insights: Balancing Challenges and Opportunities

At a pre-show press conference, top executives shared deep insights into the industry’s outlook.

SEMI Global CMO and Taiwan President Terry Tsao noted that the semiconductor industry stands at the crossroads of geopolitics, sustainability, talent shortages, and supply chain management. While complex, these dynamics are also catalysts for ecosystem transformation. This year’s exhibition successfully brings together the three major memory giants—Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron—on stage, along with keynote addresses by Jim Keller (Tenstorrent founder), Jochen Hanebeck (Infineon CEO), and Kurt Sievers (NXP CEO).

Tsao highlighted the CEO Summit, where Cliff Hou (Chairman of the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association) and Tien Wu (CEO, ASE Holdings & new SEMI Global Board Chair) will discuss with Keller and Hanebeck in a panel regarding the industry trend in the next decade—a rare opportunity that cannot be missed.

ASE’s Tien Wu: Value Re-Creation and Strategic Thinking

In the press conference, Wu stressed that under geopolitical pressures, the business environment is increasingly complex. However, companies must “become stronger while delivering simpler solutions.” He argued that value chains are being reshaped—orders now prioritize value creation over volume.

Wu forecasts that semiconductor industry revenue could surpass US$1 trillion around 2030–2032, but the key is who captures the highest-value segments. While AI offers massive opportunities, he warned against focusing solely on advanced processes while neglecting upgrades in packaging/testing and materials.

ASE is investing in automation, silicon photonics, CoWoS, and power management to prepare for future needs. Wu emphasized that semiconductors have shifted from a “one-to-many” U.S.-centric supply model to a multi-polar, complementary system—an irreversible trend. Taiwan must selectively target strategic goals, optimize from a systems perspective, and leverage alliances to convert its comprehensive ecosystem into streamlined global solutions.

GlobalWafers’ Doris Hsu: Building Resilient Supply Chains and Localizing Critical Materials

Doris Hsu, Chairperson of GlobalWafers, focused on supply chain resilience and critical materials. She cautioned that the industry’s chokepoints may increasingly lie not in advanced process or packaging capacity, but in small yet indispensable materials such as chemicals, specialty gases, slurries, or precursors that could be weaponized in geopolitical tensions.

She cited rare earths, photoresist additives, precursors, specialty chemicals and gases, SiC, and gallium as likely targets of resilience challenges, noting specifically that gallium faces risks as China, which owns 90% of the world’s gallium, imposes export control. Hsu urged a shift from “Just in Time” to “Just in Case” operations, accepting higher costs to build truly resilient supply chains. She called for government–industry cooperation to gradually localize key materials in Taiwan and pursue global alternatives for sustainability.

SEMI’s Clark Tseng: AI Growth Drivers and Potential Risks

Clark Tseng, Senior Director of Industry Research at SEMI, provided a data-driven outlook. Despite trade-related uncertainties, AI will remain the primary growth driver, with momentum expanding from data centers to edge AI and boosting power semiconductors, packaging, and power management.

However, he flagged risks: potential AI investment slowdowns and tariff/export control restrictions on chips, equipment, and materials are factors requiring close monitoring.

Taiwan’s Strategic Transformation

Prof. Tzi-Dar Chiueh, Dean of the Graduate School of Advanced Technology at National Taiwan University and CEO of the Taiwan Chip-based Industrial Innovation Program (Taiwan CbI, 晶創臺灣), emphasized Taiwan’s strategic shift from contract manufacturing to innovation leadership. The initiative aims to position Taiwan as a global driver of semiconductor development amid global competition, supply chain restructuring, and rising innovation needs.

On talent, he noted that industry–academia partnerships are already showing results. Policy directions are well-aligned with investment needs, laying a solid foundation for Taiwan’s competitiveness in the AI era.

Date: 2025-09-08 Source:TechSod