Research Firm: Driven by Agentic AI, Server Shipments Estimated to Exceed 5 Million Units in Q2
According to a DIGITIMES survey, the proliferation of Agentic AI is driving server demand, with global server shipments expected to surpass 5 million units for the first time in the second quarter of 2026. The increasing reliance on AI tasks that are heavily dependent on CPUs is boosting demand for general-purpose servers.
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- 📰 Published: May 13, 2026 at 19:49
- 🔍 Collected: May 13, 2026 at 20:02 (12 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 13, 2026 at 20:43 (40 min after Collected)
(Central News Agency, Taipei, 13th, by reporter Pan Chih-yi) According to the latest production and sales survey from research firm DIGITIMES, global server shipments in the first quarter of this year grew by 4% compared to the fourth quarter of last year, a performance significantly better than expected. In the second quarter, server shipments are set to exceed 5 million units for the first time.
DIGITIMES pointed out that this momentum primarily stems from strong demand from major US-based cloud service providers (CSPs) and brand vendors. In particular, the popularization of Agentic AI is redefining the focus of market demand for server hardware.
DIGITIMES senior analyst Sean Hsiao predicts that entering the second quarter of 2026, global server shipments will surpass the 5 million unit mark for the first time, with a quarterly growth rate of 8.6% and a year-over-year growth rate that will significantly exceed 30%. The growth momentum is mainly driven by US cloud providers全力 expanding their CPU computing power to meet the demand brought by the rapid growth of Agentic AI workloads.
Hsiao noted that the popularity of Agentic AI not only accelerates the consumption of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) in token generation but its extensive task coordination and tool invocation functions during automated task execution heavily rely on the computational support of traditional Central Processing Units (CPUs). This has caused cloud providers to shift their shipping focus to general-purpose servers.
Regarding brand vendors, Hsiao said that in addition to strong order growth for AI and general-purpose models from second-tier cloud providers, traditional enterprise customers are also initiating a replacement cycle. This is driven by concerns about future server price hikes and the urgency to deploy Agentic AI, which boosted shipment performance in the first quarter. (Editor: Chang Chun-mao) 1150513
DIGITIMES pointed out that this momentum primarily stems from strong demand from major US-based cloud service providers (CSPs) and brand vendors. In particular, the popularization of Agentic AI is redefining the focus of market demand for server hardware.
DIGITIMES senior analyst Sean Hsiao predicts that entering the second quarter of 2026, global server shipments will surpass the 5 million unit mark for the first time, with a quarterly growth rate of 8.6% and a year-over-year growth rate that will significantly exceed 30%. The growth momentum is mainly driven by US cloud providers全力 expanding their CPU computing power to meet the demand brought by the rapid growth of Agentic AI workloads.
Hsiao noted that the popularity of Agentic AI not only accelerates the consumption of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) in token generation but its extensive task coordination and tool invocation functions during automated task execution heavily rely on the computational support of traditional Central Processing Units (CPUs). This has caused cloud providers to shift their shipping focus to general-purpose servers.
Regarding brand vendors, Hsiao said that in addition to strong order growth for AI and general-purpose models from second-tier cloud providers, traditional enterprise customers are also initiating a replacement cycle. This is driven by concerns about future server price hikes and the urgency to deploy Agentic AI, which boosted shipment performance in the first quarter. (Editor: Chang Chun-mao) 1150513