Hon Hai Technology Group (鴻海科技集團) has hired former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) cochief operating officer Chiang Shang-yi (蔣尚義) as a strategy officer to assist its semiconductor business development, the group said yesterday.
Chiang’s appointment took effect immediately. He is to report directly to Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉).
Chiang was the central figure in TSMC’s technology advancement, and once considered a potential successor to TSMC founder and former chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀). He spent the past few years in China assisting Chinese chipmakers Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (中芯國際) and Wuhan Hongxin Semiconductor Corp (武漢弘芯半導體).
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Chiang on Oct. 18 attended a Hon Hai technology forum in Taipei, prompting speculation that he might join the Apple Inc supplier.
Bob Chen (陳偉銘), president of Hon Hai’s semiconductor business group, is a former colleague of Chiang’s from TSMC.
“Chiang’s rich experience in the semiconductor industry will provide Hon Hai invaluable support for the group’s global semiconductor deployment strategy and technical guidance,” Liu said in a statement. “We are grateful to have such a seasoned semiconductor veteran join us at this important juncture in the group’s development.”
File photo: Liberty Times
Hon Hai last year accelerated the pace of its semiconductor capacity deployment in response to rising customer demand following a two-year chip crunch, Liu said in August.
The iPhone assembler purchases about US$60 billion of chips a year, and would focus on making chips used in electric vehicles and electronics, he said, adding that the company would not compete with chipmakers.
Hon Hai has said it is looking to build semiconductor capacity in Malaysia and India through its partnerships with local companies.
The company said it hopes its efforts in developing microcontrollers, power semiconductors, and light detection and ranging technology would bear fruit within three years.
It also said it expects to launch volume production of chips using mature technology in 2024 and start supplying auto chips to customers in 2025.
In related news, Intel Corp executive Randhir Thakur, who oversaw a key part of the company’s comeback plan — its push into the contract-manufacturing industry — is leaving the chipmaker.
Thakur “has decided to step down from his position to pursue opportunities outside the company,” Intel said in an e-mailed statement on Monday. “He will stay on through the first quarter of 2023 to ensure a smooth transition to a new leader.”
The departure marks a shakeup for chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger’s turnaround plan.
After losing its role as the leader of the US$580 billion chip industry, Intel has set out to expand its operations. That includes becoming a so-called foundry — a business that makes chips for other companies. It is an area dominated by TSMC and Samsung Electronics Co, two companies that are unlikely to cede their territory easily.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new