According to a report by Omdia, the global semiconductor industry recorded $425 billion in revenue during the second quarter of 2026. This figure marks a 31.4% increase from the previous quarter, surpassing the 29.2% growth seen in Q1 2026 and setting a new record for quarter-on-quarter growth.
Strong Demand for AI Drives Memory Chip Sales
The surge in revenue is largely driven by artificial intelligence (AI) technology reshaping production priorities among memory suppliers. In Q2 2026, DRAM, NAND, and NOR memory segments all posted their highest quarter-on-quarter increases since Omdia began tracking these figures. Other semiconductor categories also experienced gains exceeding 10%, well above typical quarterly growth rates of just over 3%.
Half-Year Revenue Already Surpasses Previous Full-Year Totals
Total semiconductor revenues for the first half of 2026 reached $752 billion, exceeding the entire annual revenue reported in 2024 and earlier years. Omdia forecasts that Q3 2026 semiconductor revenue will exceed $500 billion, pushing the cumulative revenue by the end of September to approximately $1.25 trillion. This figure would represent a 50% increase over the full-year revenue of 2025.
These figures highlight the rapid growth of the semiconductor market driven by expanding AI applications and increasing demand for memory products.
Source: ithome.com
