The 2026 Semiconductor Industry Development Trend Conference recently concluded in Shenzhen. Held on April 10 at the InterContinental Shenzhen, the event coincided with the 18th Huaqiang Electronic Network Quality Supplier Awards.
Hosted by Huaqiang Electronic Network, the conference received support from major industry bodies, including the China Semiconductor Industry Association (CSIA) and several regional integrated circuit (IC) associations.
Event Highlights: AI and Innovation
The theme was “Intelligence Without Borders, Future with Chips.” The event featured a main forum and two specialized tracks: AI-Powered Consumer Electronics and the 2026 RISC-V Ecosystem Expansion.
- Attendance: Over 1,000 industry professionals attended in person.
- Speakers: 35 industry leaders and technical experts shared insights.
- Reach: Online live streams surpassed 120,000 views.
- Recognition: The evening gala honored top-tier domestic brands and suppliers, cementing their role as industry benchmarks.
Market Intelligence: Data & Projections
Industry veterans provided a deep dive into the macro-economic and technical landscape of the semiconductor sector.
Global and Domestic Growth
- 2025 Performance: Global semiconductor revenue reached $772.24 billion. IC products alone grew by 25.6%.
- China’s Surge: China’s industry sales exceeded 1.7 trillion RMB, a 20.2% year-on-year increase.
- 2026 Outlook: The global market is expected to surpass the $1 trillion milestone.
- China’s Market Value: Demand is shifting toward high-end AI, HPC, and automotive sectors. China’s market scale is projected to exceed 3 trillion RMB by 2026.
Key Drivers
- AI as the New OS: AI has evolved from a performance booster to the foundational “operating system” for the industry.
- Manufacturing Power: China remains the world leader in mature process chip production.
- Export Milestone: In 2025, China’s IC exports topped $200 billion for the first time.
Corporate Insights & Technology Frontiers
Leading firms showcased how AI is reshaping hardware:
- Allwinner Technology: The “AI Wearable Era” is here. Global AI glasses sales hit 5-6 million units in 2025. Allwinner’s 2nd-gen vision chip launches in April 2026, featuring 4K video and sub-100ms AI image processing.
- King-Semi (Jingcun): Storage is no longer just “support.” It is now critical for system performance. AI is driving a shift toward high-bandwidth, low-latency, and high-reliability memory.
- MetaX (Muxi): The company focuses on domestic, high-performance GPUs. Their chips are now scaling in finance, healthcare, and energy sectors.
- Renesas Electronics: Showcased the RA8P1 MCU. Powered by Cortex-M85, it delivers a 20x AI performance boost over standard CPUs for edge applications like facial recognition and motor fault detection.
- EmdoorVR (Yijing): Predicts that AI wearables will become “personal AI companions” by 2027. They offer full-stack solutions from audio glasses to AI rings.
- Avnet: Emphasized the role of global distribution. Avnet helps domestic chipmakers enter global markets through localized design and logistics support.
8 Core Opportunities for 2026
The Huaqiang Electronic Industry Research Institute identified eight pivotal growth areas for the coming year:
- Commercial scaling of domestic AI computing chips.
- Growth in Edge AI SoCs.
- The AI-driven Memory Super Cycle.
- High-speed demand for Optical Modules.
- L3 Autonomous Driving components.
- The scale-up of AI Glasses.
- The AI Toy market boom.
- Breakthroughs in Humanoid Robotics.
Strategy for 2026: In a volatile global market, companies should prioritize the domestic market and embrace “Light AI” integration to find stability.