June 22, 2026 | SAN JOSE, USA — Powered by booming demand for AI chips, high-performance computing devices and automotive semiconductors, the global semiconductor silicon wafer market maintains strong upward momentum in the first quarter of 2026. According to the latest quarterly report released by SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group, global silicon wafer shipments reached 3,275 million square inches in Q1 2026, representing a 13.1% year-on-year increase, reflecting robust downstream demand across the whole chip manufacturing chain.
Continuous supply shortage pushes global wafer suppliers to raise product prices for the second time this year. Leading wafer manufacturers including Shin-Etsu Chemical, SUMCO and GlobalWafers have lifted prices of mainstream 12-inch silicon wafers by over 15% cumulatively since early 2026. Wafers customized for AI and HPC chips see a higher price hike of 18% to 22%, as foundries prioritize advanced-node wafer orders to support mass production of next-generation AI processors.
Both advanced and mature wafer markets face tight supply across the globe. 12-inch wafers for cutting-edge chip processes remain fully booked due to long-term order reservations from top foundries. Meanwhile, 8-inch wafers for mature manufacturing processes are still in short supply, driven by steady orders from power semiconductors, sensors and analog chips widely used in new energy vehicles and industrial electronics.
In terms of technological innovation, square silicon wafers emerge as a new industry development hotspot. GlobalWafers has launched customer verification of 12-inch square wafers and plans official mass production in the fourth quarter of 2026. Compared with traditional round wafers, square wafers can reduce raw material waste and improve chip production efficiency, bringing new optimization solutions for chipmakers to cut manufacturing costs.
Third-generation semiconductor wafers, represented by silicon carbide (SiC), also achieve rapid market growth. The fast penetration of electric vehicles boosts demand for high-power SiC wafers. More material manufacturers expand SiC production capacity to ease market gaps, while optimized manufacturing processes gradually lower overall production costs of wide-bandgap wafers.
Nevertheless, the global wafer industry still confronts multiple risks. Rising costs of high-purity polysilicon raw materials, tightening global semiconductor trade rules and huge capital investment requirements for advanced wafer production lines slow down capacity expansion progress. Most newly built wafer fabs cannot release full production capacity until 2027.
Industry analysts forecast that strong AI hardware demand will continue supporting the wafer market in the second half of 2026. The whole industry will focus on both capacity expansion and technological innovation, and square wafer technology as well as high-performance SiC wafers will become key competitive directions for leading suppliers in the next two years.