After a year of blistering growth, AI chip makers get ready for bigger 2026

Dec 31, 2025
1 min read

Driven by the explosive growth of artificial intelligence, the largest semiconductor companies in the world recorded more than $400 billion in combined sales in 2025, by far the biggest year for chips on record. Next year promises to be even bigger.

Yet the blistering pace of growth, fed by what CEOs and analysts describe as “insatiable demand” for computing power, has created a host of challenges, from shortages of vital components to questions about how and when AI companies will be able to generate reliable enough profits to keep buying chips.

Hardware designers such as Nvidia, which more than doubled its revenue year-over-year, are the main suppliers of the picks and shovels behind this new digital gold rush.