The live ledger of AI-chip economics
A provenance-backed data platform for semiconductor & AI-accelerator economics — wafer pricing, HBM, packaging, fabs, and foundry allocation. Every number dated and sourced, every dataset queryable by humans and AI agents alike.
TSMC wafer price by node
Public sourcesAnalysis & Modeling Tools
From wafer-level cost modeling to global supply chain mapping — everything in one platform.
Chip Price Calculator
Wafer cost, yield modeling, packaging economics, and margin analysis across process nodes from 180nm to 2nm.
HBM Market Analysis
HBM market dynamics — accelerator specs, vendor market share, spot pricing, supply chain signals, and revenue forecasts.
Fab Explorer
Explore 64 semiconductor fabs from TSMC, Samsung, Intel, GlobalFoundries, SMIC, UMC, and more. Filter by node, country, and capacity.
Market Data
Historical time series for wafer pricing, HBM/DRAM costs, fab utilization, CoWoS capacity, and NRE trends — 328 sourced data points across 16 datasets.
Cost Bridge Chart
Side-by-side manufacturing cost comparison across logic die, HBM memory, packaging, and assembly for 18 AI accelerators.
Packaging Model
Compare CoWoS-S, CoWoS-L, EMIB, SoIC, and flip-chip architectures with HBM stack cost analysis.
Supply Chain Explorer
Interactive sunburst visualization of semiconductor supply chain chokepoints — from ASML to Zeiss optics to Japanese photoresist monopolies.
Price / Performance Frontier
Compare AI accelerators on cost, throughput, training time, and TCO — H100, B200, MI300X, TPU v5p, and more.
Allocation Dashboard
Track foundry allocation status, CoWoS packaging availability, and HBM supply signals across 14 process nodes from TSMC, Samsung, Intel, and more.
Tapeout Decision Workspace
Guided 5-step workflow for fabless teams evaluating tapeout decisions — chip definition, foundry selection, cost modeling, competitive benchmarking, and go/no-go summary.
Developer API
Structured semiconductor data for AI agents and applications — wafer pricing, HBM, foundry economics, the daily change ledger, and 30+ articles. Free, no key required.
The AI-chip supply chain, one email a week
One short email a week on the AI-chip supply chain — pricing & lead-time signals, HBM and foundry-capacity moves, and that week's new analysis. Sourced, dated, human-reviewed. No marketing, ever.
One short email a week — only when the data moves. No marketing, ever. One-click unsubscribe.
Latest Analysis & Market Intelligence
Deep-dive reports and daily AI-detected supply-chain signals — each sourced and dated. Public sources only.
Nvidia Flags 'Extreme' Memory Costs Compressing Margins; Supply Meets Only 70% of Demand — HBM Shortage Structural, Not Transient
Nvidia's Q2 FY2027 earnings (revenue $96.2B, +106% YoY) included an explicit management warning that memory costs are 'extreme' and surpassed internal forecasts, forcing a gross margin guidance reset for the coming year; Nvidia simultaneously disclosed it can currently supply only 70% of demand from existing customers. A former Nvidia executive cited on CNBC corroborated the view that elevated memory pricing is structural, arguing Nvidia's own 70% FY2028 revenue growth projection — explicitly characterized by CFO Colette Kress as a 'supply-constrained outlook' — would be higher were HBM constraints not binding.
Gross margin pressure: Nvidia guiding below current ~75% GM due to memory cost overage; supply gap: ~30% of current customer demand unmet; FY2028 revenue upside capped by HBM supply constraint (analyst Stacy Rasgon, Bernstein, quantifies constrained vs. unconstrained delta as implying >$200B in suppressed revenue potential).
HBM4/4e Supply Squeeze Drives 50%+ Price Surge Threat; Nvidia Passes 15%+ Cost Hike Downstream
TrendForce reports HBM prices could rise 50%+ in 2027 as tight DRAM supply, HBM4e qualification uncertainty, and lower production efficiency converge — with Nvidia already responding by raising AI server pricing more than 15% across multiple configurations. Separately, Nvidia is reportedly considering multiple HBM configurations for Rubin Ultra (8-Hi HBM4e, 12-Hi HBM4, 8-Hi HBM4) due to yield and supply concerns around 12-Hi HBM4e, signaling active platform-level BOM restructuring to manage component scarcity.
HBM price impact: +50%+ potential increase in 2027 (TrendForce via Polinews); AI server system pricing: +15%+ (Nvidia, multiple sources); AMD CoWoS demand: +308% YoY to 530,000 wafers in 2026 (Morgan Stanley); Global HBM TAM: ~$35B (2025) → ~$100B (2028), ~40% CAGR (Micron, Hot Chips 2026)
Nvidia Confirms >15% AI Server Price Hikes Driven by Soaring HBM Costs
Nvidia has notified its largest customers of price increases exceeding 15% on AI server systems — including Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell configurations — with the hikes explicitly attributed to soaring memory chip costs and set to take effect on systems shipped in early 2027. The signal is corroborated by both Bloomberg and CNBC reporting, and is consistent with Asian supply chain data showing increased 4nm Blackwell wafer starts alongside confirmed HBM supply constraints that have historically compressed system-level margins.
Est. AI server BOM cost increase: +15% or more on affected Vera Rubin / Grace Blackwell system configurations; memory (HBM) identified as primary cost driver.
DRAM Spot Price Outlook 2026: What the DDR4/DDR5 Spread Is Telling Us About the Memory Cycle
DDR4 and DDR5 spot prices are surging into 2026, with contract prices lagging behind. We decode what the widening spot-contract spread historically signals about memory cycle turns.
DRAM spot prices for both DDR4 and DDR5 have entered a sharp acceleration phase, with server DRAM contract prices rising 45–50% in Q4 2025 and TrendForce projecting a further 55–60% quarter-on-quarter gain in Q1 2026. A rare inversion—where chip spot quotes have exceeded module quotes—is flashing one of the clearest early-cycle signals in years. With AI-driven HBM demand cannibalizing standard DRAM capacity and no meaningful supply relief expected before 2027, the spot market is pricing in a sustained upcycle, not a transient squeeze.
HBM4 Qualification Matrix: Samsung vs SK Hynix vs Micron — 2026 Market Share Outlook
A chart-first analysis of the HBM4 supplier qualification race between SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron, with implications for 2026 market share, accelerator BOM cost, and HBM4 pricing dynamics.
SK Hynix enters 2026 as the dominant HBM4 supplier, with UBS projecting ~70% share of the HBM4 segment serving NVIDIA's Rubin platform. Samsung is recovering from yield setbacks but has shipped HBM4 to NVIDIA first among challengers, while Micron holds a distant third with meaningful upside if qualification milestones land on schedule. The supplier mix directly compresses or expands HBM line items in accelerator BOMs that already run $2,400–$6,500 per unit.
Silicon Analysts Pro
Custom cost models, data exports, full historical series, and exclusive analysis for semiconductor professionals.
Pro is coming soon — get notified when it launches.
Learn More →Free to join the waitlist — no credit card required.
Semiconductor Cost Modeling Platform
Chip Cost Calculator
Model chip manufacturing costs across process nodes from 28nm to 2nm. Calculate GDPW, net die yield, wafer costs, CoWoS packaging, HBM memory pricing, and total chip cost with interactive parameter adjustments. Free alternative to paid die calculators.
Supply Chain Intelligence
Explore 64 semiconductor fabs worldwide with capacity data, track HBM market dynamics with live spot pricing and vendor market share, and visualize supply chain chokepoints from ASML lithography to Japanese photoresist monopolies.
Market Analysis
30+ deep-dive reports covering TSMC wafer pricing, NVIDIA GPU economics, HBM memory shortages, export controls, and AI chip demand trends. Data-driven analysis with interactive cost models and structured data via our free API.
Semiconductor Manufacturing FAQ
- How much does it cost to make a semiconductor chip?
- Semiconductor manufacturing costs vary by process node: mature 28nm costs ~$3,000 per wafer, advanced 5nm costs ~$18,500, and cutting-edge 3nm costs ~$19,500. Per-chip cost depends on die size and yield — for example, an NVIDIA H100 (814mm² at TSMC 4N) costs approximately $3,320 to manufacture, while the B200 costs approximately $6,400.
- How many chips can you get from one wafer?
- The number of chips per wafer (Gross Dies Per Wafer or GDPW) depends on die size and wafer diameter. On a standard 300mm wafer: a small chip (50mm²) yields ~1,250 gross dies, a medium chip (200mm²) yields ~300, and a large chip like NVIDIA's H100 (814mm²) yields approximately 74 gross dies before yield loss.
- What is the most expensive chip to manufacture?
- As of 2026, the most expensive chips to manufacture are large AI accelerators. NVIDIA's B200 (Blackwell) at TSMC 4NP has an estimated manufacturing cost of ~$6,750, with HBM memory ($3,250) being the largest cost component. AMD's MI300X, using N5/N6 chiplets with advanced packaging, costs approximately $5,300 to manufacture.
- How many semiconductor fabs are there in the world?
- Silicon Analysts tracks 64 semiconductor fabrication facilities across 10 countries, operated by 16 companies including TSMC, Samsung, Intel, GlobalFoundries, UMC, and SMIC. New fabs are currently under construction or announced globally, including TSMC Arizona, JASM Kumamoto, and Intel Ohio.
Start analyzing semiconductor costs today
No sign-up required. Open tools, open data, open API.