The annual SEMICON West relocated for the first time to Phoenix in 2025, the new hub of US chip manufacturing. Compared to previous years, the event saw a 45% increase in exhibitors, and attendance on the first day doubled compared to that in 2024. Overseas participation also grew significantly, highlighting Phoenix's rising appeal as America's emerging semiconductor production base.
Strong turnout reflects renewed industry interest
Joe Stockunas, president of SEMI Americas, called 2025 the largest SEMICON West in 18 years. While SEMI remains rooted in Silicon Valley, he noted that occasional change is needed to invigorate the event—one reason for moving it to Phoenix.
Industry observers at SEMICON West 2025 remarked on the distinct atmosphere created by hosting the show in Phoenix, despite overall crowds being smaller than those at SEMICON Taiwan. Taiwanese semiconductor supply chain participants who have attended multiple SEMICON West events agreed that the new location generated noticeably higher enthusiasm.
In past years, San Francisco struggled to attract visitors largely because the Bay Area no longer plays a major role in semiconductor manufacturing. This led to waning interest from overseas companies, and even major US equipment suppliers were reluctant to exhibit. The shift to Phoenix reversed this trend, boosting exhibitor engagement.
TSMC leads Arizona's expanding chip ecosystem
The growing buzz around US chip manufacturing has focused attention on the local investment scale. TSMC's US$165 billion investment plan stands out as the key driver behind Arizona's expanding chip ecosystem.
At the show, SEMI released its latest forecast for 12-inch wafer fab equipment spending, projecting global expenditures of US$374 billion between 2026 and 2028.
This massive capital expenditure reflects wafer fab regionalization and soaring AI chip demand from data centers and edge devices. It also underscores commitments worldwide to semiconductor self-sufficiency through localized ecosystems and supply chain restructuring.
China leads global investment, US shows fastest growth
By region, China leads with an estimated US$94 billion investment in 300mm wafer equipment during this period, followed by South Korea at US$86 billion, benefiting from strong memory demand driven by AI. Taiwan ranks third with US$75 billion, targeting 2nm and more advanced process nodes. Notably, the US places fourth with US$60 billion, surpassing Japan and Europe.
SEMI further highlighted that based on existing US fab investment plans, construction and equipment spending will ramp up sharply starting in 2027, potentially doubling 2026-2027 levels to about US$43 billion in 2028.
Although the US's total investment still trails Asian countries, SEMI expects its growth rate from 2027 onward to outpace all other markets globally. Investments span both logic and memory chips, signaling positive momentum toward increasing domestic AI chip production capacity.
Bubble concerns tempered by cloud provider demand
However, risks remain, particularly concerns over a potential AI chip market bubble that could reduce demand and slow US fab progress.
SEMI believes that even if such a bubble occurs, large cloud service providers' demand would likely remain stable, mitigating severe downturns. Continued supportive US chip policies should sustain industry momentum.
Article edited by Jerry Chen
