The AI server build-out is spreading demand from advanced to mature process nodes. Semiconductor Industry Observation reported on September 28 that TrendForce expects the average 8-inch capacity utilization of the world's top ten foundries to recover to 88% in 2026, with the second half reaching 90%. UMC has initiated selective price adjustments for certain processes and customers in the second half, and signaled that the magnitude and coverage of 2027 adjustments will be more pronounced than the second half of this year. Vanguard completed a round of price adjustments earlier this year, with Q3 average selling price continuing to rise and 8-inch capacity utilization breaking 90%. PSMC has also adjusted prices for some foundry products.
The core driver is a structural spillover of AI demand. Beyond GPUs and ASICs, each AI server requires dozens of auxiliary chips for power supply, control, network and system management. PMICs, high-voltage power-management chips, BMCs, MCUs and networking devices are overwhelmingly built on mature processes of 40nm, 55nm and above. Some foundries have been trimming legacy capacity in recent years, redirecting resources to advanced nodes, so mature-node capacity has not increased with demand, reinforcing the foundation for price increases.
For China's electronic-component supply chain, higher mature-process foundry pricing means power devices, analog ICs, MCUs and sensors face another round of cost pass-through in 2027. Layered on top of elevated memory and passive-component prices, BOM pressure keeps building. The AI spillover lands precisely on PMICs, power devices, driver ICs and sensors — overlapping with the mainstream territory of domestic MOSFETs, DC-DC converters, gate drivers and MEMS devices — while domestic foundry and IDM lines run at high utilization, opening a window for local parts to absorb spillover orders. Distributors with verified genuine-product channels and dynamic inventory alerts can help customers stock ahead and smooth BOM swings in this rising-cost cycle.