ITF World 2026: The Semiconductor Industry Enters a New Systems Era

At imec's ITF World 2026 conference in Antwerp, the semiconductor industry is shifting from the traditional transistor scaling model to a new era defined by system-level integration and cross-domain c... Read original →

The AI compute bottleneck has shattered the illusion of Moore’s Law-driven single-point breakthroughs, compelling the industry toward system-level co-optimization. Technically, 3D integration and chiplets will reshape EDA toolchains, advanced packaging capacity, and optical interconnect supply chains—accelerating the shift from CPO to 3D optical I/O. Regulatory friction across geographies will inflate inventory costs and extend localization validation cycles, especially for packaging hubs in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong, China. In market dynamics, Intel and TSMC are pivoting from foundry rivalry to competing system-integration alliances, while NVIDIA may lock premium foundry capacity via custom AI SoCs. Within 18 months, semiconductor value will pivot from transistor density to interconnect bandwidth and energy efficiency—establishing 'integration as moat' as the new competitive paradigm.