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Artificial-intelligence demand is pushing chipmakers to expand leading-edge logic, high-bandwidth memory and advanced packaging capacity. That buildout is lifting orders for the equipment used to make, assemble and test semiconductors—but AI is one demand driver among several, not an explanation for every dollar of spending.
What the record-sales numbers actually measure
SEMI reports two different kinds of figures that should not be treated as interchangeable: realized worldwide equipment billings and an OEM-perspective sales forecast. The distinction matters when comparing years or deciding whether the industry has set a record.
| Figure | Value | Change | What it measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $117.1 billion | 10% above 2023’s $106.3 billion | Worldwide semiconductor manufacturing-equipment sales reported by SEMI in 2025 |
| 2025 | $135.1 billion | 15% above 2024 | Worldwide billings reported by SEMI in April 2026 |
| 2025 forecast | $125.5 billion | 7.4% year over year | OEM-perspective forecast published by SEMI in July 2025 |
| 2026 forecast | $138.1 billion | Forecast increase from 2025 | OEM-perspective forecast published by SEMI in July 2025 |
The $135.1 billion result is the realized 2025 billing figure in SEMI’s April 2026 release. The $125.5 billion number is an earlier forecast for that same year, so it is not a revision of the billing figure or a second definition of the record. The two series use different reporting perspectives and timing.
Ajit Manocha, SEMI’s president and CEO, said: “Record semiconductor equipment billings of $135 billion in 2025 underscore the scale and urgency of the industry’s buildout as AI accelerates demand for leading-edge logic, advanced memory and high-bandwidth architectures.”
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How AI is increasing equipment demand
Leading-edge logic capacity
AI accelerators require large quantities of advanced logic. As chip designers move to newer process nodes and manufacturers add capacity for those products, fabs need new wafer-processing tools and the supporting infrastructure around them. The equipment purchase is therefore an indirect response to AI demand: AI-system orders influence chip orders, which influence fab expansions, which create equipment demand.
High-bandwidth memory
AI systems rely on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) alongside advanced processors. Producing HBM involves memory-fab expansion and tighter integration with the processor package, increasing demand for wafer-processing, packaging and test capabilities. The available figures identify memory and AI-related capacity expansion as growth drivers, but do not assign a separate dollar amount to HBM alone.
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Advanced packaging and more intensive testing
Large AI devices combine multiple dies and high-speed connections. That raises the importance of assembly, packaging and test equipment, not just front-end wafer tools. SEMI’s 2024 data showed assembly and packaging sales up 25% and test billings up 20%. In the April 2026 release, 2025 test billings rose 55% and assembly and packaging billings rose 21%, while front-end wafer-processing equipment rose 12%.
Capacity expansion is broader than AI
AI demand is arriving alongside process-node migrations, memory-market cycles and government or regional capacity policies. Those forces can cause equipment spending even when the end product is not an AI chip. SEMI’s data supports AI as a major catalyst, but it does not support attributing the entire market total to AI.
Which chipmaking tools benefit?
Equipment demand spans the front end of manufacturing, where wafers are processed, and the back end, where chips are assembled, packaged and tested.
| Manufacturing area | What the equipment does | Why AI-related demand matters |
|---|---|---|
| Wafer processing | Builds transistor and interconnect structures on silicon wafers | Leading-edge logic and advanced memory capacity require new process tools and node transitions |
| Fab facilities | Provides the clean, controlled environment and utilities needed to run process equipment | New or expanded fabs require facility systems before production can scale |
| Mask and reticle equipment | Creates and handles the patterns used to print circuitry | New designs and process generations require corresponding patterning capacity |
| Assembly and packaging | Connects dies and packages finished devices | HBM and complex multi-die AI products increase advanced-packaging requirements |
| Test | Checks electrical performance and reliability | More complex, expensive devices require extensive validation before shipment |
SEMI’s July 2025 OEM-perspective forecast illustrates the split. It expected wafer-fab equipment sales of $110.8 billion in 2025, up 6.2%, and $122.1 billion in 2026, up 10.2%. The same forecast put test-equipment sales at $9.3 billion in 2025, up 23.2%, and assembly-and-packaging equipment at $5.4 billion, up 7.7%. These are forecast values, not the later realized 2025 billings.
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Where semiconductor-equipment spending is concentrated
Spending is highly concentrated in East Asia. SEMI’s April 2026 release said China, Taiwan and Korea together represented 79% of global semiconductor-equipment spending in 2025.
| Market | 2025 spending detail | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| China | $49.3 billion | SEMI-reported 2025 spending, down 0.5% from the prior year and close to a record |
| Taiwan | $31.5 billion | SEMI-reported 2025 spending, a record |
| Korea | Not stated | Included with China and Taiwan in the 79% combined share |
The 79% figure is a share of global 2025 equipment spending, while the country amounts are spending figures from SEMI’s April 2026 release. They should not be compared with the July 2025 OEM forecast as if all four numbers belonged to one series.
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Are semiconductor-equipment sales really at a record?
Yes, on the realized-billings measure reported by SEMI in April 2026: worldwide billings reached $135.1 billion in 2025, versus $117.1 billion in 2024. The word “record” applies to that reported billings series. It does not mean that every equipment category, company or region individually reached a record, and it does not turn the earlier 2025 forecast into an actual result.
How to interpret the boom as an investor or industry watcher
Start with the measurement
Check whether a release reports billings, sales or a forecast. Billings are an indicator of equipment delivered or invoiced in the reported period; an OEM forecast is an estimate made earlier and can differ materially from the eventual result.
Separate front-end and back-end exposure
A supplier focused on wafer processing responds to leading-edge logic and memory-fab investment. A supplier focused on packaging or test may benefit more directly from chiplet integration, HBM assembly and rising test complexity. Market totals can rise while individual segments move at different rates.
Watch the geographic mix
Because most spending is concentrated in China, Taiwan and Korea, equipment demand is sensitive to the timing of projects and to regional capacity policies. A strong global total does not imply evenly distributed growth.
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AI infrastructure can support a multiyear capacity buildout, but equipment purchases still depend on memory cycles, node-transition schedules, fab construction and customers’ capital budgets. The published figures establish strong growth through 2025 and a positive 2026 forecast; they do not guarantee a uniform increase every quarter or for every supplier.
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