Taiwan will prioritize the development of silicon photonics by taking advantage of its strength in the semiconductor industry to build another shield to protect the local economy, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said yesterday.
Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Liu said Taiwan already has the artificial intelligence (AI) industry as a shield, after the semiconductor industry, to safeguard the country, and is looking at new unique fields to build more economic shields.
While Taiwan will further strengthen its existing shields, over the longer term, the country is determined to focus on such potential segments as silicon photonics to boost its competitive edge and take a larger share of the global market, Liu said.
Photo: Wu Hsin-tien, Taipei Times
Silicon photonics is known as the applications of photonic systems using silicon as a medium for optical transmission, which has some promising features, such as low power consumption, extensive transmission distance, and lower costs.
At a time when AI applications are booming, finding ways to cut energy consumption has become a focus.
Eyeing a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光) organized the Silicon Photonics Industry Alliance (SiPhIA) in September last year. The group is comprised of more than 30 Taiwanese tech companies.
TSMC also teamed up with Nvidia Corp in silicon photonics development in January, though Nvidia founder and chairman Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) has said the two sides still need several years to achieve concrete outcomes.
In addition to silicon photonics, Taiwan has also listed quantum and autonomous robot development as additional potential economic shields for the country, Liu said.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海) has entered quantum and robotics development as the company seeks to transform itself from a pure contract manufacturer into a company that can integrate hardware and software capabilities.
On Monday, Nvidia announced it will partner with TSMC, Hon Hai, Wistron Corp (緯創) as well as Amkor Technology Inc and its Taiwanese counterpart Siliconware Precision Industries Co (矽品) to build facilities in the US to produce the first-ever US-made AI supercomputers.
According to Nvidia, it plans to produce up to US$500 billion of AI infrastructure products in the US through its manufacturing partnerships over the next four years.
Commenting on the Nvidia move, Liu said he saw tremendous business opportunities for Taiwanese companies, adding that through cooperation, Taiwan and the US are expected to build closer business ties.
In the wake of tariff threats from the Trump administration, Liu said that Taiwanese companies are expected to face more challenges but the government will provide necessary assistance to assist their efforts at global expansion to navigate the headwinds.
The US accounts for 13.4 percent of the total imports in the global market and Taiwan should target the remaining 86.6 percent, he said.
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