Taiwan Power continues to benefit, with advanced process capacity below 7 nanometers growing by 69% in three years

In the past two years, the artificial intelligence (AI) industry has flourished, driving the market demand for advanced stage processes, because of the continuous growth of large-scale language models (LLM) and large-scale inference models (LRM), and large-scale deployment of AI inference in various applications.

International Semiconductor Industry Association (SEMI) said that by 2028, advanced manufacturing technology (under 7 nanometers) production capacity will grow significantly. According to SEMI research, from the end of 2024 to 2028, the overall production of 12-inch crystal circles will grow at a rate of 7% per year. By 2028, the global 12-inch crystal round monthly production capacity will reach 11.1 million films, creating a record high in production history.

As for the main reason for the growth of the 12-inch crystal circle, it is that the production capacity is also rapidly growing through complex processes. Production under 7 nanometers will grow by 69%, from 850,000 tablets per month in 2024 to 1.4 million tablets in 2028, with a combined annual growth rate of 14%, which is twice the growth rate of the overall production capacity. If the scope of the advanced stage process is reduced, the increase rate of production capacity below 2 nanometers will be faster. It will grow from less than 20,000 films per month in 2025 to more than 50,000 films per month in 2028, which means that the production capacity has more than doubled.

SEMI emphasizes that at the same time, the expenses of production equipment used for advanced stage processes have also increased sharply, with an expected increase from US$26 billion in 2024 to more than US$50 billion in 2028, with an annual growth rate of 18%. Among them, the production tools used in 2 nanometers and below are expected to increase by 120%, from US$19 billion to US$43 billion, showing the booming demand in advanced markets in the next stage.