Two types of semiconductors, indium phosphide (InP) and silicon (Si), were separately grown on polycrystalline copper foils with the presence of gold colloidal particles. InP was grown with and without carbon deposition by metal organic chemical vapor deposition, and Si was grown with and without plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of carbon. While lnP and Si grew as films on untreated copper foils, they were found to grow in the form of nanowires when copper foils were pre-treated with carbon. Structural analysis revealed that the grown lnP nanowires were polycrystalline. In contrast, the grown Si nanowires were found to have core-shell structures with a monocrystalline core and a polycrystalline shell. Further analysis suggested that graphene was formed on the copper foils during the carbon deposition. Therefore, we concluded that the presence of graphene promoted the growth of lnP and Si in the form of nanowires. The demonstration of growing semiconductor nanowires on copper foils could be a new path to integrate semiconductor and metal to provide a unique material platform for a wide range of devices. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.