Taipei: With the SEMICON Taiwan 2025 trade show set to kick off Wednesday, market attention has turned to the mass production of advanced packaging technologies and capacity expansion in Taiwan and the United States.
According to Focus Taiwan, as traditional scaling reaches its physical limits, heterogeneous integration and packaging technologies have emerged as key solutions. The surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips has spotlighted technologies such as chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS), integrated fan-out (InFO), system on integrated chips (SoIC), 3D IC, and fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP). These innovations are making a significant impact at this year’s trade show, as noted by industry experts.
Chipmakers are ramping up capacity to meet this demand, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) aggressively expanding its packaging capacity in both Taiwan and the U.S., industry sources said. Currently, TSMC operates five advanced packaging facilities in Taiwan and plans to add four more. In the U.S., it is collaborating with Amkor to build new CoWoS and InFO capacities in Arizona, as part of its record US$165 billion global investment plan.
TSMC Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei stated that demand for AI chips remains strong, and the company is working to narrow the gap between the tight supply of CoWoS advanced packaging and robust market demand. Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) Holding Co. is also increasing its CoWoS lines in Kaohsiung and through subsidiary SPIL in central Taiwan, with plans for further investment through 2026.
ASE Chief Operating Officer Tien Wu indicated that demand for advanced packaging is only beginning and the company plans to continue increasing investment in the segment through 2026. Market estimates suggest TSMC’s monthly CoWoS output will double to 70,000 wafers by year-end and exceed 90,000 by the end of 2026, according to industry sources.
On the testing side, King Yuan Electronics is raising capital expenditure to a record NT$37 billion (US$1.21 billion) for AI chip testing. Additionally, Taiwanese firms are investing in FOPLP, with Innolux, Powertech, ASE, Hiwin, and Utechzone expanding operations. Global players such as NXP, STMicroelectronics, AMD, and Qualcomm are adopting panel-level packaging for power management and RF chips, with potential AI applications ahead, industry sources said.
SEMICON Taiwan 2025 will run from September 10-12 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1 and 2.