Taipei [Taiwan], May 14 : Kevin Zhang, Deputy Co-COO at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), on Thursday said that AI is projected to drive global semiconductor output to USD 1.5 trillion by 2030. He noted that AI is expected to replace smartphones as the chip industry's primary growth engine.
According to a report by Focus Taiwan, speaking at TSMC's 2026 Taiwan Technology Symposium in Hsinchu, the TSMC Deputy stated that AI development had advanced far faster than expected and was rapidly reshaping the global technology industry.
"Over the past decade, smartphones were the key growth driver for semiconductors. In the future, that growth momentum will come from AI," the report quoted Zhang, who also serves as the chipmaker's senior vice president for business development and global sales.
Zhang described AI as potentially "the most important and influential technology in human history".
As per the report, nearly all current AI accelerators are now largely produced through the semiconductor industry's fabless-foundry model, which separates chip design from manufacturing, he added.
Under that model, semiconductor companies focus on chip design while outsourcing increasingly complex and costly manufacturing processes to foundries such as TSMC, helping accelerate innovation, he said.
According to Zhang, AI and high-performance computing applications are expected to account for 55 per cent of the global semiconductor market by 2030, while smartphones will contribute 20 per cent, followed by automotive and Internet of Things applications at 10 per cent each.
He added that the global foundry sector alone could reach USD 500 billion by 2030.
Zhang said smartphones would continue driving semiconductor innovation, noting that handsets powered by chips manufactured using TSMC's 2-nanometre process technology are expected to become commercially available later this year.
The report highlighted that Taiwan possesses "the world's strongest AI supply chain", Zhang said, citing partnerships between TSMC and Taiwanese electronics manufacturers such as Quanta Computer Inc.
Meanwhile, Ray Wan, TSMC's director of Asia-Pacific business, said AI applications are rapidly expanding from cloud computing into edge devices such as smartphones, home appliances and automobiles.
"Smartphones are gradually becoming personal AI assistants," the report quoted Wan.
To illustrate the scale of AI-related semiconductor demand, Wan said TSMC customers across the Asia-Pacific region used more than 2.1 million 12-inch equivalent wafers last year.
If stacked vertically, those wafers would exceed 1,600 meters in height, "taller than three Taipei 101 skyscrapers combined," he said.
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