Semiconductor industry to grow by over 10% in 2025: TSMC executive

Taipei, May 15 (CNA) The semiconductor industry will grow by over 10 percent this year and is likely to have a market value of over US$1 trillion by 2030, a senior Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) executive said Thursday.

Speaking at a conference in Hsinchu, TSMC Deputy Co-Chief Operating Officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said the semiconductor industry was going through an "invigorating" period, despite the recent market volatility.

Given the breakout year that AI technologies had in 2024, there is likely to be continued demand for AI chips in 2025, including those manufactured with the 5, 4 and 3 nanometer processes, Zhang said.

Zhang, who also serves as a senior vice president for business development and global sales, said the market for smart phones, computers and internet of things (IoT) devices continued to see strong growth.

While the automobile market is flagging, there continue to be new technologies, such as autonomous driving, driving demand for 12 nm and 8 nm products, as well as possibly 5 nm in the future, Zhang said.

The semiconductor industry will continue to grow at a "very healthy" rate of over 10 percent in 2025, and will likely reach a market value of over US$1 trillion by 2030, driven largely by AI, Zhang said.

By 2030, AI applications are expected to make up 45 percent of semiconductor sales, followed by smartphones at 25 percent, automobiles at 15 percent and IoT devices at 10 percent, he added.

Regarding product timelines, Zhang said TSMC plans to begin mass production on its 14A (1.4 nm) process in 2028.

Compared to the 2 nm process, A14 will be 10-15 percent faster, or at the same speed will use 25-30 percent less energy, Zhang said.