Global Industry Intelligence · 2025 → 2026

The semiconductor industry,
from sand to AI factory.

A structured, data-driven map of the chip industry — the upstream that builds the tools, the foundries that turn designs into silicon, the demand engine now dominated by AI, and the widening fault line between the United States, its allies, and China. Built from public authoritative data and original reporting from The Information.

$791.7B
Global chip sales, 2025
▲ 25.6% YoY
~$975B
WSTS 2026 forecast
▲ ~25% · nears $1T
~70%
TSMC share of foundry rev.
▲ widening lead
~$200B
Industry capex, 2026E
▲ ~20% YoY
01

The story in one screen

Three forces define the cycle: an AI super-cycle pulling logic and memory demand vertical, an extreme concentration of capability in a handful of firms and regions, and a geopolitical re-wiring of the supply chain around export controls and national self-sufficiency drives.

Global semiconductor sales

Annual revenue, US$ billions · actuals + WSTS/SIA forecast
Source: WSTS, SIA (2024–2026)

What's driving the growth

2026 forecast revenue growth by product category
Source: WSTS Fall 2025 forecast

Revenue by end market

Approximate share of demand, 2025
Source: Deloitte, SIA, Statista estimates

How to read this site

  • 02
    Value chain — every layer from materials & equipment to design, fab, packaging and end markets, and who controls each chokepoint.
  • 03
    Supply & demand — the AI-led demand shock, the memory super-cycle, capacity, capex and where shortages are biting.
  • 04
    Global market — size, regional split, segment economics and the competitive structure.
  • 05
    China — demand, self-sufficiency drive, export controls and the Nvidia stand-off.
  • 06
    Players — the companies that matter at each layer.
  • 07
    Outlook — forecasts, scenarios and the key risks to watch.
02

Five things to know

AI is the whole cycle AI-related demand now drives roughly half of total industry revenue while representing well under 1% of unit volume. WSTS expects Logic +37% and Memory +28% in 2026 — the two categories where AI data-center spend lands.
Concentration is extreme One firm (TSMC) makes ~70% of foundry revenue and essentially all leading-edge logic. One firm (ASML) makes every EUV lithography tool on earth. Three firms control ~95% of memory.
Memory went vertical Banks call 2026 a memory "super-cycle." HBM for AI accelerators is forecast near $55B in 2026, and the big three warn shortages of conventional DRAM/NAND could run through 2027.
The China fault line The InformationBeijing is steering buyers toward domestic chips — banning foreign AI silicon in state-funded data centers and, in Jan 2026, telling firms to halt Nvidia H200 orders even after Washington allowed the sales.

Start with the value chain →

See how a chip travels from raw silicon and a single Dutch lithography monopoly all the way to the AI servers in a hyperscale data center.

Explore the value chain Jump to China deep-dive