WinWay Technology Co (穎崴) yesterday launched a new probe card factory in Kaohsiung which the IC testing interface supplier has spent NT$3.2 billion (US$104.17 million) on, as it seeks to expand capacity amid fast-growing testing demand primarily for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance-computing (HPC) and auto chips.
The new factory would help satisfy customers’ demand for advanced process technologies, as well as high-speed and high-frequency testing services, the company said in a statement.
It is expected to generate an annual production value of NT$1 billion and create about 1,000 jobs in the nation’s second-largest city, WinWay said.
Photo: CNA
“The company decided to invest NT$3.25 billion on building a high-end semiconductor manufacturing facility at the Nanzih Technology Industrial Park (楠梓科技產業園區), as it believes rapid growth of 5G, AI, HPC and auto chips will give a strong boost to high-end testing services,” WinWay chairman Mark Wang (王嘉煌) said in the statement.
With the factory entering operations, WinWay aims to expand its probe card capacity to 3 million units a month within the next two years, which would raise its in-house probe card supply to 50 percent of total probes consumed by the firm.
The expansion of probe card capacity would enable the company to be well-prepared for growth opportunities from AI-related chips, Wang said.
Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung Economic Development Bureau via CNA
Due to rapidly growing demand for generative AI applications, the production value of the global semiconductor industry would triple to US$125 billion in 2027, from US$53 billion this year, Morgan Stanley said in a report earlier this week.
WinWay counts AI chip suppliers Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) and Nvidia Corp among its customers.
AMD yesterday launched its new MI300X chip for AI and is targeting mass production in the fourth quarter of this year.
WinWay is also expanding its probe card capacity at a facility in Hsinchu, Wang said, adding that it is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
WinWay expects its probe card revenue to double next year, thanks to the capacity expansion at its Kaohsiung and Hsinchu facilities, Wang said.
The company’s probe card business accounted for about 20 percent of its total revenue last year, company data showed.
WinWay’s revenue in the first five months totaled NT$1.64 billion, up 26.68 percent from the same period last year.
This year’s revenue is expected to be higher than last year’s NT$5.12 billion, fueled by new orders and a broader product lineup, the company said.
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