Global semiconductor equipment investment is expected to continue its upward trend, exceeding $110 billion in 2025.

According to the latest 'World Fab Forecast' report from SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International), which represents the semiconductor industry supply chain, spending on front-end semiconductor manufacturing equipment is expected to reach $110 billion in 2025, a 2% increase from the previous year.

This is expected to continue the record of increasing investment volume for six consecutive years starting in 2020.

The forecast report also projects that fab equipment investments will increase 18% to $130 billion in 2026.

This growth is being attributed to the increased demand for memory for high-performance computing (HPC), data center expansion, and the expansion of edge devices and AI technologies.

“Demand for AI-related semiconductors is rapidly increasing, accelerating fab equipment investment across industries,” said Ajit Manocha, CEO of SEMI.

He stressed the need to secure human resources as he expects about 50 new fabs to come online between 2025 and 2026.

Logic semiconductors, a leader in growth The logic semiconductor sector is expected to be a major driver of industry growth.

2nm process and This is supported by increased investment in advanced processes such as next-generation backside power delivery (BPD) technology.

Fab investments in the logic semiconductor sector are expected to increase 11% to $52 billion in 2025 and 14% to $59 billion in 2026.

Memory semiconductor equipment investment is expected to increase 2% to $32 billion in 2025 and 27% in 2026.

DRAM investment is expected to decline 6% to $21 billion in 2025, but rebound 19% to $25 billion in 2026.

On the other hand, NAND investment is expected to show strong growth, reaching $10 billion in 2025, up 54%, and then reaching $15 billion in 2026, up another 47%.

Investment Trends by Country China is expected to remain the largest contributor to global semiconductor equipment investment, although investment will peak at $50 billion in 2024 and then decline.

China's investment is expected to fall 24% to $38 billion in 2025, and 5% to $36 billion in 2026.

South Korea plans to increase facility investment to respond to the spread of AI technology and increasing demand for memory.

Accordingly, it is expected that investment will increase by 29% to $21.5 billion in 2025 and increase by 26% to $27 billion in 2026.

Taiwan is expected to maintain its third-largest global investment position, reaching $21 billion in 2025 and $24.5 billion in 2026.

The United States is expected to continue investing from $14 billion to $20 billion, Japan from $14 billion to $11 billion, and Europe and the Middle East from $9 billion to $7 billion.