India, Oct. 29 -- Global silicon wafer shipments are projected to increase 11.8% in 2026 to 14,420 million square inches (MSI), SEMI reported in its annual silicon shipment forecast.

Shipments are expected to reach successive record highs from 2027 through 2029, rising to 17,034 MSI by the end of the forecast period.

Silicon wafer shipment growth in 2026 is being led by strong AI-related demand, supporting advanced epitaxial wafers for leading-edge logic and polished wafers for memory applications. Memory demand extends beyond high-bandwidth memory (HBM) to server DRAM and enterprise NAND flash.

Recovering mature-node utilization and easing customer inventory adjustments are also supporting shipment growth this year. Looking ahead, con...