Chip market set for $1 trillion year as Nvidia, Broadcom, Samsung, Qualcomm and Intel fight for AI edge

The global chip market is about to hit $1 trillion in yearly revenue for the first time. That’s happening way faster than anyone expected. Sales were $791.7 billion last year, and they’re now set to jump another 26% in 2026.

The demand for AI gear and data infrastructure is exploding. This is pushing companies like Nvidia, Broadcom, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Intel into a brutal fight for control.

John Neuffer, who runs the Semiconductor Industry Association, said the boom isn’t just about tech.“When we have growth in our sector, it means exponential benefits in other sectors,” John said.“Our technology is foundational for pretty much every critical strategic industry.”

He also said the market was supposed to take another four years to hit $1 trillion, but AI changed that completely.

AI data centers spark demand for logic and memory chips

New data centers are being built everywhere. They need tons of powerful chips, and that’s helping companies like Micron and Nvidia rack up sales.

Logic chips, which handle the actual computing, brought in $301.9 billion in 2025. That’s a 40% jump from the year before. Memory chips, which store the data, hit $223.1 billion after growing 35%.

John said the industry still has its usual cycles. “We do like our oscillations, and this is no doubt going to continue,” he said. But he made it clear that demand isn’t slowing down. “The pie is just simply getting bigger.”

Every major region saw growth except Japan. Sales went up across Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Europe, and China. Japan lagged behind. Meanwhile, U.S. export restrictions on chips to China are starting to ease a bit.

John said the U.S. needs to invest more in research and also fix immigration so skilled engineers from other countries can stay. He said that without these steps, America could fall behind.

Korean chip stocks beat China as investors chase memory boom

There’s a new winner in Asia’s tech world. Samsung and SK Hynix together are now worth $1.14 trillion. That puts them ahead of Alibaba and Tencent, which combined are worth $1.07 trillion. This is the first time Korea’s biggest chip makers have overtaken China’s tech giants.

Samsung and SK Hynix are both up more than 39% this year. They’re riding the wave of insane memory chip demand. In comparison, Alibaba dropped 2.3% and Tencent fell 2.9% just this week.

Tencent is still down for the year. Alibaba’s yearly gain is now only 13%. The trend is clear. Investors are putting their money in the hardware side of AI, not e-commerce platforms.

Yiping Liao, who manages money at Franklin Templeton, explained the difference.“Korea is really concentrated on a specific part of the tech supply chain, whereas for China, it’s more a story of a full end-to-end AI stack that they’re trying to build,” Yiping said.

He added that the share price gains for Samsung and SK Hynix are tied to the tight supply of memory chips.

There’s also fear in the Chinese tech sector. On Tuesday, investors freaked out after hearing new tax rumors. That caused Chinese tech stocks to drop suddenly. These kinds of policy scares have hit them before.

By Friday, Samsung’s stock went up 1%. SK Hynix dipped 0.3%. Tencent and Alibaba were both down, again. Chinese tech firms are struggling to keep up. Korean firms, on the other hand, are benefiting directly from AI’s hardware needs.

Timothy Moe from Goldman Sachs says the chip sector will be behind about 60% of all earnings growth in Korea this year. That’s a massive chunk of the market. And it shows just how much AI demand is driving the entire region.