Racing to meet AI-driven demand, chipmakers are building more fabs. Global construction spending across all 300-millimeter facilities is forecast to rise 23 percent this year and another 33 percent in 2027, according to Semi. The uptick in construction co-drives an increase in 300mm front-end equipment spending, which is projected to rise from 149 billion dollars in 2026 to 227 billion dollars in 2029.
“Semiconductor demand is increasingly translating into physical manufacturing expansion across the global industry,” says Semi CEO Ajit Manocha. “The latest outlook points to both stronger equipment investment and a substantial pipeline of fabs moving toward operation. This expansion will provide the manufacturing foundation needed to support AI, high-performance computing and a broad range of next-generation semiconductor applications.”
