VIS Reports Rising Capacity Utilization and Projects Wafer Price Hikes for 2027
Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) announced that its capacity utilization rate is rising, reaching approximately 90% in Q3 2026, and projected that wafer contract prices in 2027 will increase by at least the same margin as in 2026. Additionally, the company's AI-related revenue share is expected to reach 10% or more of its total revenue for the full year of 2026. This trend highlights the growing demand for specialty wafer foundry services, driven by the rapid expansion of AI applications into mature and specialty process nodes. It also signals a broader recovery in the semiconductor supply chain, allowing foundries to regain pricing power. VIS remains one of the few companies actively investing in 8-inch wafers, while its Singapore-based 12-inch joint venture fab, VSMC, is set to begin mass production in Q1 2027. Although process upgrades will cause a 4% contraction in annual wafer shipments for 2026, Q3 shipments and average selling prices (ASP) are still expected to grow quarter-on-quarter.
## BACKGROUND
Wafer sizes typically range from 8 inches to 12 inches, with larger wafers allowing more chips to be produced per disk, though 8-inch wafers remain cost-effective for specialty chips like power management and display drivers. Wafer foundries manufacture integrated circuits for fabless design companies. Specialty processes focus on optimizing specific chip functions rather than just shrinking transistor sizes.