Yole Group announces the release of its annual Status of the Advanced IC Substrates Industry report, a comprehensive market and technology analysis covering organic IC substrates, Glass Core substrates, substrate-like PCBs, and Embedded Die technologies.
After a challenging 2023, the IC substrate ecosystem is showing promising signs of recovery. According to Yole Group’s latest projections, the combined market for advanced substrate technologies is expected to reach $31 billion by 2030, driven by AI and HPC, as well as broader penetration into consumer, automotive, and defence segments.
Market rebound across technologies
In 2024, the organic AICS market rebounded modestly to $14.2 billion, growing 1% YoY. Build-up IC substrates alone constituted a dominant market share that continues to grow.
“This growth reflects sustained demand for larger, complex, high-ASP substrates capable of supporting generative AI, data centre, and advanced package requirements, including finer interconnects, higher yield, and controlled lead times,” said Bilal Hachemi, PhD Senior Technology & Market Analyst, Semiconductor Packaging at Yole Group.
The GCS market remains nascent, but strategic investments across the US, Korea, and China are laying the foundation for future commercialisation. Yole Group’s analysts forecast a multi-hundred million $ market value by 2030, driven mainly by HPC, AI, and telecommunications. Flagship initiatives like Absolics’ Georgia-based fab and a growing number of pilot lines reflect the long-term commitment to GCS technology by industry giants.
SLP solutions are projected to grow steadily to more than $5 billion by 2030, with a 4.5% CAGR. Dominated by smartphone adoption, SLPs bridge the gap between traditional PCBs and IC substrates, offering a scalable platform for AR/VR, wearables, and flagship mobile devices.
Despite its modest market size, ED technology remains a strategic enabler, especially in meeting power, thermal, and miniaturisation requirements in automotive and industrial applications. Leading players, such as ASE, AT&S, Würth Elektronik, and Texas Instruments, are exploring diverse ED integration models, though a fragmented supply chain and high cost still hinder rapid expansion.
Capacity expansion and regional realignment
“The 2024-2025 period is marked by significant capacity investments across the global IC substrate landscape. Organic AICS manufacturing remains heavily concentrated in Asia, with dominant suppliers such as Unimicron, Ibiden, Shinko, Semco, and AT&S,” asserts Hachemi.
In response to geopolitical risks and the 2021 substrate shortage, China is investing heavily, and new players like Zhen Ding are committing up to $1 billion in capacity expansion.
Meanwhile, US and European players are beginning to respond with support from government programmes such as the CHIPS Act, though they currently lag far behind in production capacity. Importantly, the materials supply chain is diversifying, as new entrants challenge the dominance of build-up materials in the market, potentially easing bottlenecks and enhancing resilience.
In its 2025 report, Status of the Advanced IC Substrates Industry, Yole Group confirms the transformation of the IC substrate landscape. Advanced IC substrates are no longer passive packaging platforms. This ecosystem is becoming, step by step, a strategic enabler of semiconductor performance and system integration.
