Taiwan's IC design industry has reached a critical crossroads, with an unclear development direction, worsening talent shortage, confusing government policies, and shrinking academic research momentum all requiring cooperation from all sectors to overcome. But in terms of a feasible development direction, datacenter server processors and HPC (high-performance computing) chips are believed to provide the most promising future for Taiwan IC designers, according to Eric Huang, vice president of DIGITIMES and host of the IC Design Industrial Policy White Paper team.

Compound semiconductors have numerous applications, including mobile phones, fast charging, energy, and other fields. According to John Wang, analyst at DIGITIMES Research, the demand for power amplifiers (PA) for smartphone communication, which relies on gallium arsenide (GaAs) processes, has been affected by, among others, previous Chinese lockdowns, global inflation, and geopolitical factors. However, the demand is expected to bounce back in the second half of 2023.

Taiwan's semiconductor manufacturing sector boasts structural advantages in its next decade of development, but the advantages for its IC design sector are likely to change, according to Colley Hwang, president and founder of DIGITIMES.

The shortages of automotive chips have been improving since the fourth quarter of 2022, while Tesla's plan to significantly cut its SiC consumption is unlikely to undermine the SiC product market's potential, according to DIGITIMES Research's findings.

The companies that participated at Taipei International Machine Tool Show (TIMTOS) 2023, which was hosted from March 6-11, primarily focused on showcasing innovations revolving around three major themes: eco-friendly designs, digital twin, and automation, according to DIGITIMES Research's observations of the show.