AI boom drives memory fab spending past the $50 billion mark

The race to build AI infrastructure is reshaping the memory industry at an unprecedented pace. According to SEMI's latest 300mm Fab Outlook, global investment in 300mm memory fab equipment is expected to exceed US$50 billion for the first time in 2026, climbing 29% year on year to US$52 billion, before reaching US$57 billion in 2027.

The surge is being fueled by soaring demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), DDR5 and advanced DRAM technologies that power AI accelerators, hyperscale data centers and next-generation computing platforms. As cloud service providers continue expanding AI infrastructure, memory manufacturers are ramping up capacity to keep pace with growing performance and bandwidth requirements.

DRAM is expected to account for the largest share of investment, with equipment spending projected to jump 29% to US$37 billion in 2026. NAND investment is also forecast to rebound as suppliers resume capacity expansion after a period of cautious spending. Together, the two segments reflect renewed confidence in long-term memory demand following several years of market volatility.

Looking beyond 2027, SEMI expects memory equipment investment to continue growing at a compound annual rate of 19%, approaching US$80 billion by 2029. The outlook highlights how AI has become the primary catalyst for semiconductor capital spending, with memory emerging as one of the industry's fastest-growing investment areas as manufacturers prepare for the next wave of AI-enabled applications.