Semiconductors, Supply Chain, & Emerging Tech

Powering Innovation: Semiconductors, Supply Chain Strategy, and Emerging Tech Trends

Semiconductors have created a technology super-cycle powering the AI revolution. The industry is on pace to approach  $1 trillion in revenue in 2026, marking a third consecutive year of elevated growth driven by AI training, inference, and new  classes of intelligent systems. The semiconductor industry now spans a deeply interdependent global supply chain where  constraints at any layer shape overall performance and economics. Beyond traditional data center compute, emerging  technologies are expanding the market through new computing form factors that depend on breakthrough semiconductor  innovation and frontier AI models, including intelligent robotics, domain-specific XPUs, and early hybrid classical-quantum  platforms. Together, these forces are shifting the industry from a focus on standalone chips toward tightly integrated,  system-level platforms that define the next phase of AI-driven growth. 

When working on strategy, product, marketing, and sales initiatives, consider intelligence from our expert analysts – planned deliverables for 2026 include:
  • Analyst Insight Report – a report on critical issues in the industry  
  • State of the Market Report – a report on technology, markets, products, and vendors
  • Futurum Signal Report Access – any Signal Report published in the relevant practice area

The Latest Insights on Semiconductors, Supply Chain, & Emerging Tech

MRC Protocol

Can OpenAI’s MRC Networking Protocol Redefine the Economics of AI Training?

Brendan Burke, Research Director at Futurum, analyzes how OpenAI's MRC Networking Protocol addresses supercomputer bottlenecks and could redefine large-scale AI [...]
Microchip Technology Q4 FY 2026 Revenue Beats Consensus With Data Center Wins

Microchip Technology Q4 FY 2026 Revenue Beats Consensus With Data Center Wins

Brendan Burke, Research Director at Futurum, reviews Microchip’s Q4 FY 2026 earnings, focusing on recovery execution and data center connectivity [...]
Astera Labs Q1 FY 2026 Earnings Highlight Scale-Up Switching Ramp

Astera Labs Q1 FY 2026 Earnings Highlight Scale-Up Switching Ramp

Brendan Burke, Research Director at Futurum, reviews Astera Labs’ Q1 FY 2026 earnings, focusing on PCIe Gen 6 mix, and [...]
Coherent Q3 FY 2026: AI Data Center Demand Accelerates Optical Growth

Coherent Q3 FY 2026: AI Data Center Demand Accelerates Optical Growth

Brendan Burke, Research Director at Futurum, reviews Coherent’s Q3 FY 2026 earnings, focusing on datacenter optics demand, manufacturing capacity expansion, [...]
Arm Q4 FY 2026: Agentic CPU Shift Boosts Demand Outlook

Arm Q4 FY 2026: Agentic CPU Shift Boosts Demand Outlook

Brendan Burke, Research Director at Futurum, reviews Arm Q4 FY 2026 earnings, focusing on Arm AGI CPU traction, cloud royalty [...]
Teradyne Q1 FY 2026 Earnings Credit Revenue Growth to AI Test Demand

Teradyne Q1 FY 2026 Earnings Credit Revenue Growth to AI Test Demand

Brendan Burke, Research Director at Futurum, reviews Teradyne’s Q1 FY 2026 earnings, focusing on AI-driven test demand and new interconnect [...]

The Latest NEWS

The Age of Agentic Silicon: Data Center Chip Market to Reach $1.2 Trillion by 2030
July 6, 2026

The Age of Agentic Silicon: Data Center Chip Market to Reach $1.2 Trillion by 2030

Brendan Burke, Research Director at Futurum, shares findings from new research showing the data center semiconductor market surging to $1.2 trillion by 2030, as agentic AI inference reaches 45% of...
52% of Compute Decision Makers Use Reasoning Models as Primary AI Model Type
May 18, 2026

52% of Compute Decision Makers Use Reasoning Models as Primary AI Model Type

Futurum Research’s 1H 2026 data center semiconductor survey of 824 enterprise decision makers finds 52.3% of model-serving compute now goes to reasoning models, 54.0% describe their AI workload as balanced...
Chip Supply Is the Greatest Barrier to Scaling AI Compute for 26% of Decision-Makers
April 24, 2026

Chip Supply Is the Greatest Barrier to Scaling AI Compute for 26% of Decision-Makers

Brendan Burke, Research Director at Futurum, reveals chip supply and power constraints are the dominant barriers to scaling data center compute, with nearly half of organizations citing these as their...
Orbital Computing Can Reach $1 Trillion Addressable Market by 2030
April 22, 2026

Orbital Computing Can Reach $1 Trillion Addressable Market by 2030

Brendan Burke, Research Director at Futurum, explores how declining launch costs and rising terrestrial power bottlenecks could make orbital data centers a $1 trillion market by 2030....
Futurum Survey Finds That 65% of Compute Decision Makers Plan to Adopt Optical Computing
March 24, 2026

Futurum Survey Finds That 65% of Compute Decision Makers Plan to Adopt Optical Computing

Brendan Burke, Research Director at Futurum, reveals that ~65% of semiconductor decision-makers plan to adopt optical computing, with quantum accelerators and neuromorphic chips also gaining traction....
AI Grid Constraints Will Push Over 33% of Data Centers Off-Grid by 2030
March 12, 2026

AI Grid Constraints Will Push Over 33% of Data Centers Off-Grid by 2030

Brendan Burke, Nick Patience, and Olivier Blanchard, Analysts at Futurum, share their insights on how the power generation gap for AI data centers is forcing a permanent shift to off-grid...

Book a Demo

Welcome

The vision behind everything in Futurum’s Custom Research practice is this: research should show you what is happening, what comes next, and what to do about it. It should be personal to each audience, easy for people to grasp, and structured so LLMs can reason over it accurately. And it should be fast and turnkey; you want answers now, not another project to carry for quarters.

Whether you are defining business, channel, or go-to-market strategy; evaluating vendors or justifying ROI; or commissioning research to fill an emerging market need, we have your back, with a program that answers your questions with the objectivity and credibility to drive real decisions.

To do it, we bring unmatched data to bear: Futurum research, surveys, and market projections; validated market feeds; ETR’s 15 years of insight from 10,000 technology decision-makers; G2’s buyer and user data; and what our analysts hear every day. Add leading primary collection, from AI-moderated voice interviews to surveys and analyst-led interviews, all turnkey, and every project comes out credible, nuanced, and actionable.

And we don’t just drop the results in your lap. For internal work, we provide analyst-led sessions, interactive dashboards, and a range of formats. For market-facing work, Futurum delivers turnkey activation and amplification that actually gets seen, by people and by LLMs, through our media and share of voice. This is research that moves decisions and markets.

We will meet you wherever you are, from a fast-turn brief to a multi-year program, and shape the work to your goals, timeline, and budget. The right program for your moment.

If any of this is useful, I would love to talk.

Benjamin Brown, VP Custom Research, Futurum Research

Benjamin Brown

VP, Custom Research · The Futurum Group

Newsletter Sign-up Form

Get important insights straight to your inbox, receive first looks at eBooks, exclusive event invitations, custom content, and more. We promise not to spam you or sell your name to anyone. You can always unsubscribe at any time.

All fields are required






Thank you, we received your request, a member of our team will be in contact with you.