TV and video competition is extending past traditional terrestrial, cable and satellite, to telecoms behemoths (IPTV) -- "When telcos with IPTV aspirations acknowledge the difficulty in competing with broadcasters for TV audience in sophisticated markets like the UK (where digital terrestrial, cable and satellite penetration is strong), and acknowledge VoD transactions need to be high volume/price to make a profit contribution (since networks require upgrades and media firms take around 60% of revenues), they may consider the provision of more niche content as a differentiator."
Few technology sectors sit as close to the center of gravity in today's artificial intelligence (AI) economy as semiconductor manufacturing. Every AI chip that trains a frontier model, every GPU that powers a data center inference workload, and every power management IC that keeps hyperscaler facilities running traces its origins back to the global Foundry ecosystem. IDC's latest market study throws that reality into sharp relief, projecting that the broadly defined Foundry 2.0 market will surpass $360 billion in 2026, a 17 percent year-over-year gain that would have seemed optimistic even two years ago. For anyone advising boards or investment committees on technology and AI infrastructure strategy, this growth trajectory demands careful consideration. Foundry 2.0 Market Development The umbrella term covers four distinct verticals: pure-play foundry, non-memory integrated device manufacturer (IDM) production, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT), and photomask fab...