[Edaily Reporter SIN SOO-JUNG ] A forecast has emerged that the biggest obstacle determining the growth pace of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry will shift from a semiconductor supply shortage to securing investment capital. The analysis suggests that while supply issues with advanced semiconductors and memory are gradually being overcome, securing the massive capital required to build AI infrastructure is emerging as a new challenge.

According to Reuters on the 12th (local time), Broadcom CEO Hock Tan stated during a panel discussion held in Singapore that day that capital would become the biggest constraint facing the company as AI development continues.

CEO Tan explained that Broadcom is currently overcoming supply shortages of semiconductor wafers and memory. However, he predicted that securing sufficient investment capital—in addition to expanding semiconductor production capacity—will become even more critical to maintaining the AI industry’s growth momentum going forward.

Broadcom is a U.S.-based semiconductor company that supplies AI semiconductors and network-related technologies. It is benefiting from increased demand for related semiconductors and equipment as the construction of AI data centers expands.

CEO Tan’s remarks came amid growing recognition of the importance of large-scale fundraising due to the rapid growth of the AI industry. Expanding AI data centers requires not only securing high-performance semiconductors but also substantial funding to build the infrastructure needed for power supply and server operations.

During last month’s earnings call, Broadcom executives explained that securing land, power, and buildings are major constraints in the process of building AI data centers. They also noted that the supply of advanced semiconductors, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and semiconductor substrates must be taken into account.

The scale of external funding for AI infrastructure investment is also expected to surge. Morgan Stanley estimates that external funding required for AI infrastructure development will reach $1.5 trillion (approximately 2,000 trillion won) by 2028.

Reuters reported on the 9th that the burden of financing is increasing as expanded AI infrastructure investment coincides with rising global interest rates. Analysts note that since it may take a considerable amount of time for returns on AI infrastructure investments to materialize, investors are scrutinizing companies’ profitability and cash flow even more closely.

In fact, large-scale semiconductor financing deals being pursued by AI companies such as Broadcom and Anthropic are drawing market attention. According to the Financial Times (FT), Wall Street banks recently began marketing a $60 billion (approximately 80 trillion won) financing package to support Anthropic’s lease of Google’s AI semiconductors. Broadcom is reportedly providing a guarantee for part of this financing deal.

However, CEO Tan also highlighted the fact that AI companies can generate profits. He noted that Anthropic and OpenAI have demonstrated that they can generate significant revenue by applying their latest AI models to personal AI assistant services.

While the commercial use of AI technology is expanding, CEO Tan believes that securing capital for business expansion could be key to future growth.