Chip packaging service provider Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技) yesterday said it plans to acquire a facility from AUO Corp (友達) for NT$6.9 billion (US$221.51 million) in a bid to expand advanced packaging capacity as customer demand is outpacing its supply amid an artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
The deal would accelerate ramping up of Powertech’s first fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP) technology to satisfy fast-rising demand for the advanced technology used in AI, high-performance computing and vehicle chips, Powertech said in a statement.
Powertech has received positive customer feedback about its FOPLP technology, with orders greatly surpassing capacity, it said.
Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times
It can only commit to delivering half of the potential orders it has fielded, Powertech chairman Tsai Du-kung (蔡篤恭) told an earnings conference two weeks ago.
Powertech said in the statement that it expects its first FOPLP production line to enter volume production in 2027, following a decade of heavy investment.
The company plans to spend US$1 billion on the new packaging technologies next year, it said.
Advanced packaging technology has become a core strength for semiconductor companies to gain a competitive edge, as such technology can support increasing AI computing power demand, the statement said.
Powertech uses large rectangular panels that can offer at least three times greater production throughput than other advanced packaging technologies that use a circular, 12-inch wafer as a carrier, it said.
AUO expects to book a disposal gain of NT$3.85 billion from selling the less-advanced LCD manufacturing plant in Hsinchu, codenamed L3C, along with manufacturing equipment, the flat-panel maker said in a separate statement submitted to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The plant was originally used to produce flat-panel PC displays.
The transaction is the latest in efforts by AUO to dispose of less-advanced fabs as it seeks to improve its financial structure.
The latest deal is part of its “asset light” strategy and asset rejuvenation policy, AUO said.
KEEPING UP: The acquisition of a cleanroom in Taiwan would enable Micron to increase production in a market where demand continues to outpace supply, a Micron official said Micron Technology Inc has signed a letter of intent to buy a fabrication site in Taiwan from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion to expand its production of memory chips. Micron would take control of the P5 site in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼) and plans to ramp up DRAM production in phases after the transaction closes in the second quarter, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The acquisition includes an existing 12 inch fab cleanroom of 27,871m2 and would further position Micron to address growing global demand for memory solutions, the company said. Micron expects the transaction to
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
RSS