Semiconductor AI ROI remains hard to measure, HTEC says

Semiconductor companies are relatively advanced in adopting artificial intelligence but often find it harder to show how AI projects create business value, according to research released by technology and engineering company HTEC.

HTEC said 48% of semiconductor respondents described their organisations as scaling AI or already AI-native, compared with 44% across its overall survey sample. It said 78% of semiconductor respondents reported increased AI investment over the past year, close to 79% overall.

The company said semiconductor respondents showed strong discipline before approving AI projects, with 45% selecting alignment with growth or differentiation as a criterion for prioritising AI initiatives and 36% requiring a formal return-on-investment model before approval.

HTEC said measurement became less consistent after deployment. It said 38% of semiconductor respondents mainly reported AI value case by case, while 28% mainly used an enterprise dashboard. It also said only 22% said AI's purpose, value and expected outcomes were clearly articulated across their organisation.

The findings were based on 200 semiconductor executives and technology leaders in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, drawn from a global survey of 1,500 senior executives and technology leaders.