Taiwan is to set up overseas training bases under a 10-year semiconductor innovation program initiated by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) as part of its efforts to enhance cooperation with other countries on chip development, NSTC Minister Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) said on Wednesday.
Speaking with reporters after the council approved the 10-year development program earlier in the day, Wu said that Taiwan wants to play an important role in the global semiconductor industry with international cooperation expected to facilitate the manufacture of chips used in emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Last month, the NSTC unveiled a 10-year chip program, which would be launched next year with an initial budget of NT$12 billion (US$373.7 million) in the first year, but the council did not provide financial details for all of the 10-year period. The program has a goal of making Taiwan a pivotal global IC design hub.
Photo: CNA
The program would assign entry-level IC technologies to its overseas training hubs, while training in more advanced IC processes would remain in Taiwan, Wu said.
The Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute, run by the NSTC’s National Applied Research Laboratories, has already comprehensive IC development experience in training, IC design and IC manufacturing, and would back the overseas training bases, he added.
IC manufacturing is a capital-intensive industry, so only large economies can afford to have Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, set up production bases with an investment of US$10 billion or higher, Wu said.
On the other hand, as IC design development costs less than IC manufacturing, smaller-sized economies would have an opportunity to work with Taiwan in the field, Wu said.
The future overseas training bases, where Taiwanese lecturers would be assigned, are expected to help interested foreign countries become more acquainted with Taiwan’s IC design training system and forge closer tech cooperation, Wu said.
The 10-year program aims to encourage IC companies and research institutions to apply generative AI technologies to industrial development, while transforming Taiwan into a hub with a top IC talent pool, Wu said.
Although the program would support advanced IC process development, it would also aim to attract start-ups and investment institutions to come to Taiwan for cooperation, he said.
The 10-year program’s first five-year phase would focus on creating semiconductor centers, developing talent and establishing related infrastructure at the Industrial Technology Research Institute, the NSTC said.
In the long term, the program aims to help Taiwan achieve an IC design global market share of about 40 percent by 2033, and an 80 percent global market share for advanced semiconductors of 7 nanometers or below, it said.
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