The Future of Semiconductor
The development of AI (Artificial intelligence), IoT (Internet of Things), 5G, and self-driving & electric cars has rapidly grown within the fourth industrial revolution. Due to this growth, the market has been very active, and this demonstrates the potential of the semiconductor industry and its market. Lots of firms and industries have been benefiting from the market, but the drawbacks caused by the effect of the fourth industrial revolution outweigh the benefits.
The fourth industrial revolution is affecting the entire global market of semiconductors. The particular reason for this circumstance is the enormous escalation in the demand for semiconductors due to the increment of the productions. In contrast to the market becoming more active, the prediction of the future of the semiconductors market is below par; according to the experts of this area, the market would possibly have shortages of semiconductors due to a limited amount of supply. Moreover, several firms, which require semiconductors as the main component, are already having difficulty from expensive prices due to the shortage. The reason for the shortage and lack of supply is because the manufacturing skills of semiconductors are growing slowly. As technologies are getting more advanced, the semiconductors used in those products also need to be more advanced. However, the semiconductor industries are having a hard time catching up with the new production skills.
For example, the development of self-driving cars, which have been headline news lately, would require approximately 10 times more semiconductors than those in hydrogen cars- electric cars and hydrogen cars have been compared a lot due to the potentials they have. Also, the semiconductors used in those cars are more sophisticated than those in hydrogen cars. Therefore, these growths are not only leading to the blue ocean of semiconductors but also bringing shortages and requiring new manufacturing technology.
To withstand these problems, many countries are considering becoming independent from semiconductors- stop importing from foreign countries and self-production. Usually, the semiconductors are created and exported from Hong Kong, China, and South Korea. However, according to one German reporter, Russia is already preparing for a fifty billion euros scale technology development project. Furthermore, Joe Biden, the president of the United States, has used an executive order for solving the problem of shortage, and he is also considering having a comprehensive review on the supply of semiconductors. These actions — being independent of semiconductors — might benefit the existing industries in other countries, but when it intertwines with “protectionism”, the firms would need to prepare alternatives to minimize losses.
The fourth industrial revolution has shown the potential for positive changes in the future. However, the market and the industries of semiconductors still have a far way to go. The main game-changer for the future of the semiconductor markets would be in the progress of the U.S. or Russia’s plans.
