The Bank of Korea said the global semiconductor market remains undersupplied and the current AI-driven supercycle is expected to continue for some time.
The Bank of Korea said in a report submitted Monday to Rep. Park Sung-hoon that semiconductor demand has surged significantly due to investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure, while the pace of supply expansion has been slow. The bank added that the semiconductor cycle has yet to slow.
The report noted that the current chip cycle differs from previous ones because it is being driven by competitive corporate investment in anticipation of fundamental changes to the industrial ecosystem brought about by the spread of AI. The pace of supply expansion is more constrained than in the past, as the market is led by custom products such as high-bandwidth memory.
The Bank of Korea acknowledged uncertainty surrounding the pace and scope of AI technology adoption, as well as its profitability. Major investment banks, including J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, generally forecast that the global semiconductor market will remain robust at least through next year.
