New LattiSpec Report: Technology-Grade Diamond Market to Nearly Triple to $4.7 Billion by 2036, Led by Defense and AI Computing

First market-size analysis of the industrial diamond supply chain finds more than half of projected demand is already buying today — with defense radar, not AI, as the largest single application

CARLSBAD, Calif., Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- LattiSpec, the digital marketplace for technology-grade grown diamond (TGGD), today released the first comprehensive market-size analysis of the industrial diamond economy. The report, the second in the LattiSpec Lens research series, projects the market for technology-grade grown diamond will grow from $1.65 billion in 2026 to $2.75 billion in 2031 and $4.7 billion by 2036 — a near-tripling driven by defense systems, AI computing infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing, and energy.

The analysis sizes demand across 43 sub-sectors in 17 industries, projecting unit volumes, pricing, and market value for 2026, 2031, and 2036. Among the findings:

• This is not a future market. Roughly $890 million — 54% of 2026 demand — comes from applications already in current, high-volume use, including defense radar, industrial and EUV lasers, 5G/6G radio-frequency components, surgical instruments, and energy drilling.
• Defense leads today. AESA radar is the single largest sub-sector at $171 million, and defense applications together outrank every other category — a finding that runs counter to the assumption that AI is driving the market.
• AI is the fastest-rising demand engine. Thermal management for AI data centers and high-performance computing is close behind defense and compounding quickly, as diamond's thermal conductivity — the highest of any known material — addresses the heat wall in next-generation chip design.
• Unit demand more than triples, from roughly 859,000 units in 2026 to 2.75 million by 2036, while maturing production economics broaden the range of viable applications.
• Supply, not demand, is the constraint. Across key categories, buyer demand is already running ahead of what qualified growers can deliver.

"The surprise in this data isn't that the market is growing — it's how much of it is already here," said Marty Hurwitz, co-founder of LattiSpec. "More than half of this year's demand comes from products shipping today: radar arrays, laser optics, surgical tools, drill heads. The AI boom gets the attention, but defense is writing the biggest checks right now. Engineers across seventeen industries are designing with diamond, and the supply chain is racing to keep up."

The market-size analysis builds on LattiSpec's supply-chain benchmark published in July, which mapped adoption across the same industries and found 15 sub-sectors already at current or high usage. Both reports are available as a combined edition at: https://lattispec.com/lattispec-lens-tech-diamond-supply-chain-market-size-report/

About LattiSpec — LattiSpec is the digital marketplace for technology-grade grown diamond, connecting growers and suppliers with product developers across defense, semiconductors, energy, medical, quantum, and aerospace. Through the LattiSpec Lens research series, LattiSpec publishes original market data on the technology diamond supply chain. Learn more at LattiSpec.com.

Media Contact:
Mike West
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SOURCE LattiSpec