ProAsia Semiconductor Corp (PASC, 積亞半導體) plans to invest NT$3 billion (US$107.63 million) to make chips using third-generation semiconductor materials at Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), with an eye on the fast-growing electric vehicle, 5G and green energy markets, the Ministry of Science and Technology said yesterday.
ProAsia Semiconductor is a newly created subsidiary of Taiwan-Asia Semiconductor Corp (台亞半導體), a 30-year-old supplier of LED chips in Taiwan. Taiwan-Asia Semiconductor was formerly known as Optotech Corp (光磊科技) which made the renaming on Dec. 27 last year.
Taiwan-Asia Semiconductor’s board of directors in December approved a plan to indirectly invest NT$3.1 billion in ProAsia Semiconductor’s founding to make inroads into the new semiconductor material market.
ProAsia Semiconductor develops and makes MOSFET — metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors — and silicon carbide (SiC) Schottky diode modules, which are mainly used in electric vehicles, charging piles, smart grids and other auto parts, the ministry said in a statement.
“The company’s products have a technological advantage and good market potential, matching the world semiconductor industry’s pace in developing [third-generation semiconductors],” the ministry said. “The company is leveraging Taiwan-Asia Semiconductor’s LED chipmaking technology and Nichia’s compound semiconductor technology to make MOSFET and SiC.”
Nichia is to become a shareholder of ProAsia Semiconductor by subscribing to the Taiwanese firm's new shares, which would expand the latter's capital to NT$5 billion, the Chinese-language Commercial Times reported.
ProAsia Semiconductor also reportedly plans to build a 6-inch fab to produce gallium nitride (GaN) on SiC chips.
With the rapid uptake of electric vehicles, 5G-related applications and virtual-reality devices, third-generation semiconductor materials — made of SiC and GaN — have recently drawn the attention of industry experts and the media.
Third-generation semiconductor materials possess better physical and chemical characteristics, while offering faster switching speed, higher efficiency and fast heat dissipation compared with first-generation materials (silicon) and second-generation gallium arsenide, or GaAs.
The investment from ProAsia Semiconductor was the largest among the 12 investment projects totaling NT$8.51 billion that received the green light from the ministry.
Msscorps Co (汎銓科技), which specializes in material analysis in the semiconductor sector, is to invest NT$466 million in Hsinchu, making it the second-biggest investment project approved by the ministry yesterday.
Iscom Online International Information Inc (采威國際), a software developer focusing on cloud-based platform, 5G technology and artificial intelligence technology, came next. The company plans to invest NT$400 million to set up a research and development center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區).
HORMUZ ISSUE: The US president said he expected crude prices to drop at the end of the war, which he called a ‘minor excursion’ that could continue ‘for a little while’ The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait started reducing oil production, as the near-closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz ripples through energy markets and affects global supply. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is “managing offshore production levels to address storage requirements,” the company said in a statement, without giving details. Kuwait Petroleum Corp said it was lowering production at its oil fields and refineries after “Iranian threats against safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.” The war in the Middle East has all but closed Hormuz, the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the open seas,
Taiwan has enough crude oil reserves for more than 100 days and sufficient natural gas reserves for more than 11 days, both above the regulatory safety requirement, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, adding that the government would prioritize domestic price stability as conflicts in the Middle East continue. Overall, energy supply for this month is secure, and the government is continuing efforts to ensure sufficient supply for next month, Kung told reporters after meeting with representatives from business groups at the ministry in Taipei. The ministry has been holding daily cross-ministry meetings at the Executive Yuan to ensure
RATIONING: The proposal would give the Trump administration ample leverage to negotiate investments in the US as it decides how many chips to give each country US officials are debating a new regulatory framework for exporting artificial intelligence (AI) chips and are considering requiring foreign nations to invest in US AI data centers or security guarantees as a condition for granting exports of 200,000 chips or more, according to a document seen by Reuters. The rules are not yet final and could change. They would be the first attempt to regulate the flow of AI chips to US allies and partners since US President Donald Trump’s administration said it rescinded its predecessor’s so-called AI diffusion rules. Those rules sought to keep a significant amount of AI
A new worry has been rippling across the stock market lately: Entire businesses, not just their employees, might be thrown out of work. While most economists say fears of an artificial intelligence (AI) job apocalypse are overblown, seismic shifts have happened in the past after big tech breakthroughs. The IT revolution of the 1990s led to a surge in productivity that sped up the US economy for several years. It also rendered companies or even industries largely redundant — from travel agents and stockbrokers to classified advertising and newspapers, or video rental stores. Economists expect AI would deliver higher productivity,
RSS