Marvell SVP and chief technology officer Radha Nagarajan offered a clearer timeline for the commercialisation of co-packaged optics, or CPO, during a media briefing at SEMICON Taiwan 2026.
Speaking at the SEMI 3DIC Advanced Manufacturing Alliance (3DICAMA) Global Summit on September 1, Jun He, TSMC Vice President of Advanced Packaging Technology and Service, noted that while the advanced packaging sector offers massive commercial opportunities and a bright outlook, the industry still has critical gaps to address across both hardware and software.
The EU is pressing ahead with the European Chips Act and discussing a second phase, but TSMC says public money alone will not secure a durable semiconductor base. The company argues that long-term demand, operating conditions, and administrative coordination will matter more than incentives if Europe wants lasting manufacturing capacity.
Chinese foundry Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor (HHGrace) is preparing another major expansion of its 12-inch wafer capacity, reinforcing its specialty-process footprint after a sharp earnings rebound and record shipments in the first half of 2026.
Taiwan built the last computing era by manufacturing other people's designs. Ching-Ray Chang wants it to try the same trick with quantum computing, and he is arguing the window is open now because nobody has claimed the position yet.
AI is reshaping demand well beyond chips, and GlobalWafers chair Doris Hsu said this shift is lifting the strategic importance of silicon wafers across the semiconductor supply chain. She said the industry is entering a new growth phase driven by AI, advanced packaging, and broader material changes, rather than a simple cyclical rebound.
Taiwan's semiconductor materials suppliers are seeking gains from square packaging and co-packaged optics as advanced manufacturing evolves. The changes could help local firms move higher up the global chip supply chain, especially as specifications are still taking shape and adoption decisions remain open among international customers.
The European semiconductor push is moving beyond factory construction toward demand, design support, and talent building, according to TSMC. For global readers, the shift matters because Europe's chip ambitions could influence supply chains for cars, industrial equipment, and future high-performance computing systems far beyond the region.
SEMICON Taiwan 2026 will draw more than 1,300 companies and 4,300 booths to Taipei from September 2 to 4, setting new records as the industry show expands beyond chipmaking into packaging, smart fab, quantum technology, and system integration. SEMI said the event reflects how artificial intelligence is reshaping the global semiconductor supply chain.
As interconnect traffic in AI hyperscale data centers climbs, optical modules are moving toward the 1.6T and 3.2T generations. United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), Taiwan's second-largest contract chipmaker, is expanding its silicon photonics (SiPh) efforts and focusing on thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) as a core technology for overcoming key bottlenecks, while its SiPh platform has moved into 12-inch production.
Apple has unveiled new Mac mini and Mac Studio models, equipped respectively with its first 2-nanometer chip, the M6, and the four-die M5 Ultra. Most notably, the latest 2-nanometer process is used only in the entry-level Mac mini, while the 3-nanometer M5 Ultra is officially billed as the "most powerful M-series chip yet."
Industry players say Taiwan's push to localize semiconductor materials did not begin in 2026. The real turning point came in 2019, when the Japan-South Korea semiconductor trade dispute exposed a structural risk: even as Taiwan concentrated manufacturing at home, key raw materials remained controlled by overseas suppliers.
Driven by the rapid growth of AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and automotive electronics, semiconductor architecture is shifting toward high-efficiency chiplets and heterogeneous integration. This transition is accelerating global demand for advanced packaging.
On the eve of the official opening of SEMICON Taiwan 2026, the SEMI 3DIC Advanced Manufacturing Alliance (3DICAMA), initiated by SEMI, TSMC, and ASE, held the 3DIC Global Summit on September 1.
As quantum commercialization gathers pace worldwide, Taiwan is linking up with multiple countries to push for an Asia hub for quantum technology, industrial applications, international cooperation, and capital. On August 31, the Taiwan Association of Quantum Computing and Information Technology (TAQCIT), SEMI, and the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research invited representatives from eight countries based in Taiwan to share details of the upcoming "2026 Taiwan Quantum Forum" and discuss whether Taiwan can become such a hub.
Gudeng Precision Industrial chairman Bill Chiu said on August 31 that the company has begun building out its global manufacturing footprint. Its Japan plant is expected to complete further expansion in the second half of 2027 and gradually enter mass production, while the company has begun using an existing leased facility in the US for basic processing and manufacturing preparations.
Skytech and TSMC have opened an Advanced Process Laboratory focused on next-generation semiconductor manufacturing, highlighting TSMC's continued efforts to support Taiwan's domestic semiconductor equipment supply chain.
Japanese semiconductor materials suppliers Ajinomoto and Daikin Industries are expanding their presence in Taiwan as the AI boom fuels demand for advanced chip materials and encourages closer cooperation between suppliers and manufacturers.
Imec CEO Patrick Vandenameele said during a media briefing at SEMICON Taiwan 2026 that the Belgian research center is broadening its collaboration base in the AI era, extending beyond IC design firms to include model developers and cloud service providers as AI reshapes how computing systems are built and connected. Vandenameele said Imec is well positioned because what is happening in AI aligns with the organization's core mission, but its role has also changed significantly.
AI's early-stage growth is creating a short-term squeeze on land, talent, capital, and power in Taiwan, but there is no such thing as a world that cannot do without Taiwan, ASE Technology CEO and SEMI Global Board Executive Committee Chair Tien Wu said. He made the remarks at a pre-show conference on August 31 ahead of SEMICON Taiwan 2026, which runs from September 2 to 4.
Speaking at the Silicon Photonics Global Summit ahead of Semicon Taiwan 2026, Marvell Technology CTO Radha Nagarajan highlighted that the core focus for upgrading connectivity in the AI data center era has shifted firmly to power consumption. He noted that the acceleration of co-packaged optics (CPO) adoption is primarily driven by two critical bottlenecks: power and unit density.
As AI packages grow larger, the next substrate battleground is rapidly extending from traditional organic materials to glass. Samsung Electro-Mechanics (SEMCO) will make its first appearance at Semicon Taiwan 2026, with advanced packaging and glass substrate expert Gang Duan traveling to Taiwan to unveil the company's roadmap for next-generation advanced packaging substrates aimed at AI infrastructure.
ASML told a SEMICON Taiwan audience that its High NA EUV platform has been used for a high-volume logic product for the first time, a threshold the company frames as the point at which 0.55 NA lithography moves from qualification into production service.
Applied Optoelectronics (AOI) has placed a multi-year purchase order with Dutch equipment maker Trymax Semiconductor Equipment for plasma ashers and UV curing systems destined for its Sugar Land, Texas wafer fab, in a deal Trymax describes as worth several million US dollars.
