Graphene’s Edge: Adisyn (ASX: AI1) Advances Amid Semiconductor Shake-Up

The semiconductor sector is marching into its trillion-dollar era. By 2030, global chip revenues are projected to reach US$1.03 trillion, up from US$627 billion in 2024, according to PwC’s Semiconductor and Beyond 2026 report. The primary growth engines? AI accelerators, data centre infrastructure, and automotive high-performance compute-each demanding more speed, energy efficiency, and miniaturisation than traditional chip materials can provide.

But there's a catch. As chip geometries shrink to sub-5nm, copper-the workhorse of semiconductor interconnects-is fast becoming a liability. It’s this looming bottleneck that Adisyn Ltd (ASX: AI1) is seeking to solve through its pioneering graphene interconnect technology, positioning itself at the nexus of materials science and deep-tech innovation.

Where PwC Sees Opportunity, Adisyn Sets to Work

PwC’s report doesn’t mince words: the future of semiconductors depends on breakthroughs not just in processing power but in the very architecture of chip construction. AI data centres are expected to double their power draw by 2030, while automakers shift towards software-defined vehicles requiring massively centralised compute. This confluence of demand is placing immense pressure on legacy materials-particularly copper wiring, which struggles with electron scattering, thermal limits, and integration complexity at nanoscale dimensions.

Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms with extraordinary electrical and thermal conductivity, has long been touted as a next-gen alternative. The issue? No one has managed to deposit it at semiconductor-compatible temperatures-until now, perhaps.

A Low-Temperature Graphene Play

Adisyn, through its subsidiary 2D Generation, has developed a proprietary low-temperature process that allows direct growth of graphene onto coupons and, ultimately, semiconductor wafers. Adisyn’s approach uses specialised precursors and plasma-assisted activation steps  to deposit graphene at temperatures compatible with mainstream fab infrastructure.

 According to the company’s August update, development is now in Phase One: validating precursor chemistry, refining plasma pre-clean protocols, and fine-tuning post-deposition annealing. These iterations are not just lab experiments-they're designed to optimise repeatability and uniformity at a level that matters to chipmakers.

With parallel access to a second ALD system at Tel Aviv University and deep R&D partnerships in place with imec and Connecting Chips (an EU semiconductor integration initiative), Adisyn is methodically assembling the building blocks of a commercial-grade solution.

What PwC Calls a “Leap” Opportunity

In PwC’s matrix of semiconductor growth, interconnect technologies fall into what it calls the “Leap” quadrant: high-growth markets where semiconductors are rapidly becoming a greater proportion of the product’s cost and value. AI data centres alone are expected to see AI accelerators rise to 50% of total chip spend, while next-gen vehicles are adopting zonal architectures that require robust, low-resistance interconnects across centralised ECUs and sensor networks.

It’s this transition-from distributed electronics to high-performance, AI-driven compute cores-that makes graphene a tantalising prospect. Unlike copper, graphene can carry higher current densities with lower resistance and less heat. If deposited reliably, it could unlock both performance gains and manufacturing efficiencies.

And that’s the crux of Adisyn’s work: solving one of the most material-constrained problems in semiconductor evolution, not through scale or brute force, but via materials chemistry, deposition control, and domain-specific expertise.

Technical Depth Meets Global Bench Strength

The project is being led by a seasoned team with roots in semiconductor manufacturing, nanomaterials, and deep-tech commercialisation. Chairman Kevin Crofton, formerly CEO of Comet AG and SPTS Technologies, brings decades of industry leadership. Arye Kohavi, known for founding water-from-air pioneer Water-Gen, leads 2D Generation. R&D is under the helm of Miri Kish Dagan, previously a senior technologist at Tower Semiconductors, with a strong bench across Israel, Europe, and the US.

Arye Kohavi and Kevin Crofton

Crucially, the company is not chasing the moon on its own. Strategic alliances with Tel Aviv University’s Nano Center and imec-a global R&D powerhouse in nanoelectronics-add institutional gravitas and access to advanced characterisation tools. These aren’t academic handshakes; they’re fundamental to building industrial credibility and ensuring that any future customer engagement is grounded in validated science.

Funded for the Frontier

While innovation is a cash-hungry business, Adisyn is on solid footing. With a healthy cash balance post its 2D Generation acquisition and infrastructure upgrade, the company is well-positioned to fund its current development path through the next 12–18 months. The objective is clear: demonstrate the ability to deposit pure, crystalline graphene at a relevant scale and validate it under semiconductor fab conditions.

This phase includes precursor optimisation, wafer-scale repeatability testing, and, ultimately, engagement with commercial partners for joint validation. The timelines are ambitious, but the technical milestones are sequenced and attainable.

Playing Where the Industry Needs Help

What sets Adisyn apart is not just the novelty of its technology, but the relevance of its target. PwC’s report paints a clear picture of where the industry’s fault lines are emerging: data congestion in AI workloads, thermal constraints in EVs, signal integrity challenges in 5G and beyond. All these trends converge at the interconnect layer-the very wires that knit chips together.

By focusing on a low-temperature, scalable process for graphene integration, Adisyn is addressing a gap that traditional materials and deposition methods can’t fill. If successful, this isn't just a research win-it’s a platform play with implications for multiple sectors across the semiconductor value chain.

A Strategic Bet on Atomic Advantage

So while the rest of the industry throws capital at ever-smaller nodes and increasingly exotic architectures, Adisyn is taking a different approach: rethinking what those architectures are made of in the first place.

It’s an audacious move. But in a trillion-dollar industry racing toward its own physical limits, audacity may be precisely what's needed.

 Read PwC’s Semiconductor and Beyond 2026 report HERE