Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Deputy Co-COO Kevin Zhang on Thursday said advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are expected to drive global semiconductor output to USD 1.5 trillion by 2030, with AI emerging as the industry’s primary growth engine ahead of smartphones.
Speaking at TSMC’s 2026 Taiwan Technology Symposium in Hsinchu, Zhang said AI development has progressed much faster than anticipated and is rapidly transforming the global technology landscape, according to a report by Focus Taiwan.
“Over the past decade, smartphones were the key growth driver for semiconductors. In the future, that growth momentum will come from AI,” the report quoted Zhang, who also serves as TSMC’s senior vice president for business development and global sales.
Zhang described AI as potentially “the most important and influential technology in human history.” He noted that nearly all current AI accelerators are produced through the semiconductor industry’s fabless-foundry model, in which companies focus on chip design while outsourcing manufacturing to foundries such as TSMC.
He said the model has helped accelerate innovation as semiconductor manufacturing becomes increasingly complex and capital-intensive.
According to Zhang, AI and high-performance computing applications are projected to account for 55 per cent of the global semiconductor market by 2030. Smartphones are expected to contribute 20 per cent, while automotive and Internet of Things applications are forecast to make up 10 per cent each. He added that the global foundry industry alone could reach USD 500 billion by the end of the decade.
Zhang said smartphones would continue to play a significant role in semiconductor innovation, adding that devices powered by chips manufactured using TSMC’s 2-nanometre process technology are expected to become commercially available later this year.
Highlighting Taiwan’s role in the AI ecosystem, Zhang said the island has “the world’s strongest AI supply chain,” citing collaborations between TSMC and Taiwanese electronics firms such as Quanta Computer.
Meanwhile, TSMC Asia-Pacific business director Ray Wan said AI applications are rapidly expanding beyond cloud computing into edge devices, including smartphones, home appliances and automobiles.
“Smartphones are gradually becoming personal AI assistants,” Wan said, according to the report.
To demonstrate the scale of AI-driven semiconductor demand, Wan said TSMC customers across the Asia-Pacific region consumed more than 2.1 million 12-inch equivalent wafers last year. Stacked vertically, the wafers would exceed 1,600 metres in height, “taller than three Taipei 101 skyscrapers combined,” he added.
(With ANI inputs)
