According to the study, the German semiconductor industry holds a strong position internationally and accounts for about one-seventh of the U.S. industry. This figure is based on the German semiconductor industry’s contribution to meeting global consumer and investment demand across all stages of the value chain. However, it generates by far the largest share of this value abroad. In the machinery and automotive sectors, its global contribution is more than five times as high as that for domestic demand; in IT services, it is even higher. This also highlights Germany’s digital dependence on the U.S.; after all, the U.S. accounts for about 75 percent of global high-performance computing capacity, while Germany accounts for only a fraction of that.
According to Eurostat data, just over 26 percent of German companies were using AI in 2025, placing Germany 9th in an EU comparison. “Clear, low-bureaucracy rules on data protection and data use in Germany could help here. Strengthening startups—and, by extension, the venture capital market—would also be important. This market is still very underdeveloped in Germany,” says Wölfl. In this regard, the EU Chips Act 2.0—which places greater emphasis on demand and, among other things, highlights the role of startups—is also a step in the right direction.
This analysis was produced as part of the ifo project “Economics of the Semiconductor Industry,” which is financially supported by Infineon.
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Further Links
👉 www.ifo.de
👉 The Global Semiconductor Footprint—Illustrated Using Two Countries and Industries
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