Outlook Supplement - Flipbook - Page 19
Forecast
How 2026 Policy Choices Shape
the Semiconductor Landscape
to disruption—the shared responsibility of industry and government.
Federal investment and private
ROYAL KASTENS, V i c e
President of Global Public
initiatives should be complementary
Policy and Advocacy at
and fill gaps where market incentives
SEMI
fall short. Resilience and industrial
Geopolitical competition and evolving competitiveness also include environpolicy frameworks in 2026 will push
mental stewardship. This is why SEMI
the U.S. to sustain its technological
supports policies that enable conleadership in semiconductor design,
tinuous improvements while the U.S.
manufacturing, and innovation.
seeks to advance its semiconductor
The United States has led the global
manufacturing leadership.
semiconductor industry with pioTalent will remain critical to all
neering advancements in chip design,
aspects of the U.S. semiconductor
fabrication, and research, but
industry’s growth and
rebuilding a robust domestic
competitiveness. In 2026,
supply chain is a national
workforce needs will continue
security imperative and ecoto influence both industry
nomic growth opportunity.
and government priorities
For SEMI and our member
and will be recurring topics
companies in the global
as stakeholders assess how
electronics value chain with
well current efforts align with
U.S. operations, key policy
long-term demand. Talent
ROYAL KASTENS
areas for 2026 will include
infrastructure, including
competitive trade policies,
training pathways and access
workforce development, long-term tax
to top tier talent, will continue to be
and R&D incentives, implementation
essential in meeting industry needs.
of the CHIPS and Science Act, and
The need to prioritize R&D also cuts
pragmatic sustainability policies.
across all key policy priorities. Every
For the U.S. to meet its leadership
major policy area depends on a rigorous
goals in semiconductors, trade policies
R&D pipeline, which Congress recogthat preserve the supply chains essential nized in passing the CHIPS and Science
to U.S. manufacturing and strengthen
Act that established key R&D incenits industrial base are key. Simultatives. Continued implementation of the
neously, a balanced export control
CHIPS and Science Act and policies
framework secures U.S. innovation.
that support R&D strengthen every link
A consistent, rules-based framework
along the semiconductor value chain.
in alignment with allied nations will
The U.S. is at an inflection point on
protect national security while susits technology leadership goals. The
taining U.S. semiconductor competisuccess of these policy priorities will
tiveness globally.
help define whether the U.S. semiconTo help continue to drive semiconductor ecosystem continues to grow
ductor investment in the U.S., tax
stronger or risks fragmentation.
incentives benefiting the entire supply
chain will also be important in 2026.
From Lab to Fab to Scale: Securing
With key U.S. incentives approaching
the Future of US Innovation
expiration while global subsidies are
JESSICA GOMEZ, f o u n d e r
also increasing, the U.S. is in a pivotal
& CEO, Rogue Valley
Microdevices
period where pending decisions could
shift the current landscape.
The semiconductor industry is
Another priority in 2026 is resilience navigating a period of profound
www.semiconductordigest.com
transformation. While efficiency within
global supply chains remains a core
objective, today’s market is increasingly
defined by a shift toward domestic resilience and technological convergence.
As we approach 2026, the strategic
focus for U.S. manufacturers has
evolved. Performance remains central,
but it is increasingly limited by the complexities of multi-technology integration
and the massive scaling requirements of
the artificial intelligence era.
The surge in AI is driving an unprecedented demand for localized intelligence in edge devices, autonomous
systems, and medical diagnostics.
This shift is pushing the boundaries
of MEMS, sensors, integrated photonics, and advanced packaging to
their collective limits. To address these
hyperscale requirements, the transition
toward 300mm manufacturing has
become a pivotal next step for the
broader microelectronics ecosystem.
Moving beyond the legacy 200mm
standard provides the automation
and film uniformity
necessary for high-performance devices. Our
own evolution from
world-leading thin-film
expertise in Medford,
Oregon, to our new
300mm-capable facility
in Palm Bay, Florida,
JESSICA GOMEZ
reflects this industry-wide necessity for
“lab-to-fab-to-scale” capability.
Geopolitical shifts and supply chain
fragility have transformed semiconductors into critical strategic assets. For
domestic foundries, the challenge is
ensuring that innovators have a reliable
path from prototype to high-volume
production without leaving U.S. shores.
This resilience is intrinsically linked to
the combination of MEMS, advanced
packaging, photonics, and logic dies. As
traditional scaling reaches its physical
limits, this convergence has become
the new frontier for performance gains.
Semiconductor Digest Supplement to January 2026
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