Applied Materials Sees Semiconductor Shortage Through 2030 Amid AI Demand Surge - thelec.net

Applied Materials forecasts global semiconductor shortages will persist through 2030, driven primarily by surging artificial intelligence demand. This prediction highlights the severe challenges facin... Read original →

Applied Materials’ forecast of a semiconductor shortage through 2030 reflects a structural imbalance driven by AI’s insatiable demand for advanced nodes and heterogeneous integration. EUV, CXL 3.1 interconnects, and HBM will become critical bottlenecks, pushing Samsung and LG to vertically integrate OLED driver ICs to avoid foundry congestion. Downstream giants like Apple and Meta are already pre-reserving sub-3nm capacity, inflating capex. Geopolitical export controls now add over 30% to equipment lead times and compliance costs. TSMC and Intel will accelerate U.S./EU fab builds, but talent and ecosystem gaps will limit near-term yields. Over the next 12–24 months, ‘advanced-node inflation’ will emerge—premium chip prices rise while mature nodes face misallocated overcapacity. The real winners will be those mastering co-optimized equipment-material-process stacks, not mere capacity scalers.