Advantest CEO Doug Lefever told the Financial Times that AI smartphones could justify the data-center spending spree that is propping up chipmakers.

Demand for artificial intelligence-enabled smartphones could help to protect parts of the semiconductor industry from a “vicious” downturn if investment in data centres slows, said the chief executive of the world’s largest provider of chip testing machines.

AI-powered smartphones could rescue the US chip industry as data center investments begin to slow. With tech giants like Meta, Google, and Microsoft scaling back their spending, the semiconductor market risks a significant downturn.