A new HCLTech report reveals that enterprises are increasingly reliant on semiconductors, with integration now surpassing supply as the chief challenge, prompting a strategic shift towards collaborative development and long-term capabilities.
HCLTech says enterprises are moving into a new phase of semiconductor dependence, as artificial intelligence and more complex product design make chips a strategic issue rather than a purely technical one. In a global survey of 300 senior leaders across engineering, research and development, semiconductor hardware, product, innovation and technology strategy roles in the US, Europe and Asia, the company found that 98% of respondents say they are more dependent on semiconductors than they were three years ago, while 99% expect that reliance to rise further over the next five years.
The report, titled “The Silicon Shift: When Every Industry Becomes a Chip Industry”, points to industrial automation as the sector experiencing the sharpest change, with 75% of respondents saying their dependence on semiconductors has increased significantly over the past three years. HCLTech said 71% of enterprises now view AI as increasing the importance of semiconductor architecture as a business decision, reinforcing the idea that chip selection and design are becoming part of wider corporate strategy.
The study also suggests that the industry’s main bottleneck is no longer supply alone. Integration was identified as the biggest challenge, ahead of supply chain constraints and performance limits, and it ranked among the top two concerns in all four sectors covered, with particular weight in medical devices and industrial automation. HCLTech said firms are increasingly looking for engineering partners that can combine hardware and software integration, supply chain and lifecycle support, and deeper sector knowledge.
That shift appears to be influencing how companies want to source silicon. HCLTech said 79% of respondents currently rely mainly on off-the-shelf or lightly customised chips, but 66% expect to move to a different model within five years. Most see that future taking a partner-led form, with external engineering support, hybrid development or co-development models. Only small minorities expect to expand internal custom-silicon investment or lean more heavily on standard components.
In a statement accompanying the report, Ameer Saithu, HCLTech’s executive vice president and global head of semiconductor business, said firms are no longer simply choosing chips but building long-term capability around them. Ajit Manocha, president and chief executive of SEMI, wrote in the report’s foreword that industries once seen mainly as users of semiconductor technology are now helping shape what next-generation silicon must deliver.
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