May 07, 2026 /SemiMedia/ — Demand for AI chips is continuing to tighten global supply of advanced semiconductor manufacturing and packaging capacity, according to the latest research from TrendForce. The market research firm said 3nm to 2nm wafer production and 2.5D/3D advanced packaging have become key bottlenecks across the semiconductor industry.

TrendForce said CoWoS packaging capacity has remained undersupplied since 2023, with shortages spreading beyond packaging services to include related equipment, substrate supply and key raw materials. The rapid growth of AI processors is also increasing chip size and package area, causing each device to consume more wafer and packaging resources than before.

On the wafer manufacturing side, TSMC remains the main supplier for advanced 3nm production, making its capacity one of the most limited resources in the AI semiconductor market. The report said demand for AI GPUs, high-performance processors and data center chips is driving strong use of 3nm production lines.

TrendForce expects many AI chips to move from 4nm to 3nm technology between the second half of 2025 and 2026. At the same time, most high-end smartphone and PC processors are not yet moving fully into 2nm production, causing a large amount of computing demand to stay concentrated on 3nm nodes.

The long-running CoWoS shortage is also pushing customers to seek additional packaging partners. OSAT companies including SPIL and Amkor are seeing more opportunities as chip firms look for extra capacity. Intel’s EMIB technology and SPIL’s FOEB packaging platform are also gaining attention because of their similar advanced packaging capabilities. Intel’s manufacturing presence in the United States is viewed by some customers as an added advantage.

TrendForce said the severe shortage of global 2.5D packaging capacity may start to ease slightly in 2027 as TSMC continues to expand production and more orders shift to outside packaging companies. TSMC is expected to increase its CoWoS capacity by more than 60% by that time.