As semiconductor executives from across the globe prepare to converge in Dresden for the I.S.E.S EU 2025 International Semiconductor Executive Summit this September (2-4 September), North American companies face a critical strategic question: how can they leverage Europe’s evolving semiconductor landscape while maintaining competitive advantage at home? The semiconductor forecast for 2025 remains strong, with projections of $600+ billion in global revenue, and Europe is positioning itself to capture a significant share of this growth.
Dresden, often called “Silicon Saxony,” serves as the perfect backdrop for these crucial industry conversations. For North American semiconductor companies, understanding these European trends isn’t just about market intelligence—it’s about identifying partnership opportunities, supply chain alternatives, and potential competitive threats. Here are the five transformative trends that will dominate discussions among global semiconductor leaders and create strategic opportunities for North American companies.
1. Europe’s Push for Semiconductor Sovereignty: Opportunity or Threat for North American Companies?
Europe has the ambition to reach at least 20% of the world’s production of cutting-edge and sustainable semiconductors by 2030, building on its strengths in research and equipment manufacturing, analog chip design and low-power technology. The European Chips Act, backed by €30 billion in public investments, is fundamentally reshaping the competitive landscape—but what does this mean for North American companies?
The Opportunity: European investments create new partnership possibilities. North American companies with complementary technologies or market access can position themselves as strategic partners rather than competitors. The focus on “friend-shoring” means trusted North American partners may be preferred over Asian alternatives.
The Strategic Imperative: Companies that can align their European strategies with sovereignty goals while leveraging North American innovation advantages will capture the biggest opportunities. This isn’t about competing with Europe’s strengths—it’s about complementing them.
2. AI Chip Demand: Where North American Innovation Meets European Manufacturing
Strategic investments continue in AI chip design, power semiconductors, and advanced packaging as artificial intelligence applications drive unprecedented demand for specialized chips. While North American companies dominate AI chip design and software, Europe’s strengths in analog design and power semiconductors create natural partnership opportunities.
The North American Advantage: U.S. and Canadian companies lead in cutting-edge AI processor design and have direct access to the world’s largest AI companies.
The European Complement: European expertise in power management, analog design, and automotive applications creates opportunities for North American companies to access new markets and applications for their AI technologies.
Smart North American executives are looking beyond just competing in AI to finding European partners that can help extend their AI innovations into automotive, industrial, and infrastructure applications.
3. Market Growth Opportunities: Why European Diversification Matters for North American Companies
Global semiconductor sales hit $627.6 billion in 2024, an increase of 19.1% compared to 2023, with double-digit growth projected for 2025. Additionally, revenue in the semiconductors market is projected to reach $702.40 billion in 2025. However, growth isn’t equally distributed across all segments or geographies. For North American companies heavily focused on consumer and hyperscale markets, European industrial and automotive segments offer attractive diversification opportunities.
Why This Matters for North American Companies: While North American companies excel in high-volume consumer and data center applications, European markets offer higher-margin industrial and automotive opportunities with longer product lifecycles and more stable demand patterns.
The strategic opportunity lies in leveraging North American innovation and scale advantages to capture premium European market segments that value technology leadership and reliability over pure cost optimization.
4. Beyond Consumer Electronics: European Applications Creating New Revenue Streams
Smartphones no longer drive semiconductor revenue growth. Instead, automotive applications, industrial IoT, renewable energy systems, and edge computing are becoming the primary growth engines. This shift creates significant opportunities for North American companies to expand beyond their traditional consumer and hyperscale focus.
The European Opportunity: European customers in automotive and industrial markets often prefer working with North American suppliers for advanced semiconductors, viewing them as more innovative and reliable than Asian alternatives, while being more accessible than purely European suppliers.
Strategic Implications: North American companies that can adapt their consumer-focused designs for European automotive and industrial applications often find higher margins, longer product lifecycles, and more stable customer relationships.
5. Supply Chain Diversification: Europe as a Strategic Alternative to Asia
Recent global disruptions have elevated supply chain resilience from a cost consideration to a competitive differentiator. For North American companies heavily dependent on Asian supply chains, European alternatives are becoming increasingly attractive, even at premium pricing.
Why European Supply Chains Matter: European suppliers often offer shorter lead times to North American customers, reduced geopolitical risk, and alignment with “friend-shoring” policies that many North American companies are adopting.
The Strategic Shift: Companies that can offer customers supply chain alternatives, including European options, are finding this becomes a significant competitive advantage, especially in automotive, defense, and infrastructure applications where supply security outweighs pure cost optimization.
Strategic Implications for North American Semiconductor Leaders
As these trends converge, North American semiconductor executives face both opportunities and strategic decisions around European market engagement. Success in leveraging European opportunities will require:
Partnership Over Competition: Rather than viewing European capabilities as competitive threats, successful North American companies are identifying complementary partnerships that leverage both regions’ strengths.
Market Diversification: Moving beyond consumer and hyperscale focus to capture higher-margin European industrial and automotive opportunities with more stable demand patterns.
Supply Chain Optionality: Building relationships with European suppliers and partners to offer customers alternatives to Asian supply chains, creating competitive differentiation in security-conscious markets.
Connect at I.S.E.S EU 2025
These trends will undoubtedly shape the conversations and connections made at this year’s I.S.E.S EU 2025 summit in Dresden, taking place September 2-4. For North American companies, the concentration of European semiconductor executives in one location provides an unparalleled opportunity to explore partnership possibilities, assess market opportunities, and build relationships that can drive growth on both sides of the Atlantic.
For semiconductor leaders ready to capitalize on these European opportunities, direct engagement is essential. TPD’s VP of Operations, Stuart, will be attending the summit with over 10 years of experience supporting semiconductor and advanced manufacturing organizations. Since joining TPD in 2015, Stuart has helped companies scale by aligning complex workforce needs with operational excellence using his forward-thinking, data-driven approach.
Stuart’s expertise is particularly valuable for companies exploring European partnerships, diversifying into new market segments, or building resilient supply chains. Whether you’re a North American executive exploring European opportunities or a European leader interested in North American partnerships, Stuart offers strategic insights backed by practical implementation experience.
If you’re attending and would like to discuss how these trends create operational opportunities for your organization, connect with Stuart during the summit.
About TPD’s Semiconductor Practice
At TPD, we understand that North American semiconductor companies face unique talent challenges when exploring European opportunities, from finding specialized technical talent to understanding different workforce regulations and building effective international teams. As one of North America’s leading semiconductor recruiters, our team has spent over a decade helping semiconductor and advanced manufacturing organizations build scalable workforces that align with their strategic growth objectives.
With a 90% job placement success rate and 93% client satisfaction rating, we specialize in connecting North American semiconductor companies with the talent they need to execute on international opportunities. Whether you’re scaling operations for European market entry, building cross-functional teams for transatlantic partnerships, or recruiting specialized talent for supply chain diversification initiatives, our proven recruitment expertise helps translate European market trends into actionable workforce strategies.
Interested in connecting with Stuart at I.S.E.S EU 2025? Schedule a meeting by emailing us at info@tpd.com. Let’s explore how current industry trends create opportunities for your business.