en.Wedoany.com Reported - The global semiconductor equipment market is expected to approach $230 billion by 2028, setting a new all-time high, driven by the proliferation of artificial intelligence infrastructure and surging demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and cutting-edge logic semiconductors, according to a forecast released by SEMI.
On the 21st, SEMI announced that global semiconductor equipment sales are projected to reach $165.9 billion (approximately 229.7 trillion won) in 2026, up 23.2% year-over-year. The organization expects this upward momentum to continue through 2028, marking five consecutive years of growth, with total global semiconductor equipment sales hitting a record $229.5 billion (approximately 317.8 trillion won) in 2028.
SEMI CEO Ajit Manocha noted that AI has accelerated demand for high-performance, high-efficiency semiconductors, significantly driving investment across the entire equipment market. This forecast indicates that semiconductor manufacturers are massively expanding their capabilities in cutting-edge logic, next-generation memory, testing, and packaging to meet the demands of the AI era, with equipment spending entering a steeper growth trajectory than ever before.
By segment, the front-end wafer fab equipment market is seeing particularly notable growth. Wafer fab equipment sales were $116.9 billion last year and are expected to grow 23.1% year-over-year to $143.9 billion in 2026. Thereafter, growth rates of 21.8% and 14.1% are projected for 2027 and 2028, respectively, with sales expected to surpass the $200 billion mark for the first time in 2028.
By application, equipment sales for foundry and logic are forecast to grow 18.9% year-over-year to $78 billion in 2026, reaching $104.7 billion by 2028. This is primarily due to major foundries entering mass production of 2-nanometer (nm) Gate-All-Around (GAA) fine process technology, leading to a significant increase in related equipment investment.
The memory equipment sector is growing rapidly due to the transition to HBM and high-layer-count 3D NAND. DRAM equipment sales are expected to surge 39.0% year-over-year to $38.8 billion in 2026, reaching $56.9 billion by 2028. NAND equipment sales are projected to grow 30.7% to $13.9 billion in 2026, expanding to $20.8 billion by 2028.
The back-end (OSAT) and test equipment markets are also showing robust activity. Semiconductor test equipment sales are expected to grow 31.0% year-over-year to $15.3 billion in 2026, while assembly and packaging equipment sales are forecast to grow 9.6% to $6.7 billion. Both segments are projected to reach $20.8 billion and $8.6 billion, respectively, by 2028. Analysts attribute this to stringent quality standards implemented to ensure yields in advanced heterogeneous integration packaging, driving equipment adoption.
By region, South Korea, China, and Taiwan are expected to maintain their positions as the top three global semiconductor equipment investment hubs through 2028. China is projected to continue as the world's largest equipment market, driven by massive equipment investments. Taiwan is focusing on expanding advanced foundry processes for high-performance computing (HPC), while South Korea is expected to execute substantial equipment investments centered on securing a super-gap technology edge in next-generation memory, led by HBM.
