#SUMCO

A wafer-supply warehouse floor with crates from two suppliers filling most of the visible racking, a small cluster of differently-marked crates from other suppliers visible in a distant corner

Two Japanese Companies Make More Than Half the World's Silicon Wafers

Before TSMC, Nvidia, or anyone else in this cohort can do anything, they need a silicon wafer to start from. Two companies most readers have never heard of supply the majority of them.

By Brecht Corbeel · August 10, 2026 · 4 min read

An older 200mm wafer production line in a bright fab with a decommission tag caught being attached to one tool, a busier 300mm AI-grade line visible running at full activity in the background

AI Hardware & Semiconductors

SUMCO Just Bet Its Future on AI Wafers, Not Ordinary Ones

SUMCO is shutting down older production and shelving a new plant to concentrate on the high-end wafers AI chips need — capital reallocation several steps removed from any GPU.

By Brecht Corbeel · August 10, 2026 · 4 min read

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