In the silicon photonics packaging and testing interface sector, WinWay Technology has intensified its efforts and anticipates that its co-packaged optics (CPO) product will be prepared for commercial manufacture by 2025 to 2026.
The British semiconductor delegation, composed of 24 firms led by the UK Government's National Technology Adviser Dave Smith, has made its splash at SEMICON for the second year in a row.
Zhen Ding Technology made its debut at SEMICON Taiwan 2024, where the company highlighted the expanding role of IC substrates in advanced semiconductor manufacturing.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is boosting rapid advancements in data center construction but with increasingly massive power demands. Research institutions predict that energy consumption in data centers will grow exponentially in the coming years, resulting in significant carbon emissions—an issue that contrasts sharply with the global push towards net-zero carbon.
Canada is poised to play a crucial role in advancing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the coming years. As the country holds vital solutions to overcome various industry challenges, its significance is steadily growing. Recently, Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, drew media attention during a lecture at Stanford, where he stated that Canada should be a key partner for the United States in meeting the escalating energy demands of AI. However, energy is just one facet of Canada's success story in the AI landscape.
The semiconductor power components market is witnessing intense competition among three key players: Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT), and the emerging Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductors. As of the first half of 2024, each technology has made significant advancements, with SiC and GaN primarily vying to capture market share from the incumbent IGBT, while facing their own unique challenges.
The second-quarter financial reports of tech giants have been gradually released, with Nvidia delivering results that exceeded expectations, maintaining year-over-year growth, quarter-over-quarter growth, and increased gross margins. However, questions remain about whether the AI momentum will continue in the second half of the year and whether the supply of Blackwell GPUs will remain on schedule.
Starting in early 2025, IBM Cloud will allow customers to use Intel's latest Gaudi 3 AI accelerators. This marks the first publically known, major cloud industry customer for Gaudi 3 since its announcement in December 2023.
On August 29, Delta Electronics announced in a press release that its subsidiaries, Delta Electronics (Japan) and Delta Electronics (Korea), have signed an agreement to acquire the power inductor and powder materials business from Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary, Alps Electric Korea Co., Ltd., for approximately US$71 million. The acquisition includes production and R&D equipment, as well as patents and intellectual property.
Yung-Chung Kao, chairman of compound semiconductor manufacturer IntelliEPI, announced that the company has secured a subsidy of US$4.1 million under the Texas CHIPS Act, which will fund its factory expansion.
Seoul Semiconductor and its subsidiary Seoul Viosys recently released their financial results for the second quarter of 2024. CEO Chung-Hoon Lee emphasized the competitiveness of the company's strong patent portfolio in the MicroLED industry. He also announced that the company will commence mass production of MicroLED chips for digital signage in the second half of 2024.
Hua Hong Group, one of China's two major semiconductor foundries, trails behind Chinese industry leader SMIC in terms of both capacity and market share, holding a global market share of only 2-4% and ranking sixth. However, Hua Hong is rapidly expanding its production capacity in mature process technologies.
Taiwan's Acme Electronics is anticipating flat or slightly declining demand for its silicon carbide (SiC) powders used in electric vehicles (EVs) during the second half of 2024. To offset this impact, the company is actively exploring new applications for its products, according to company president Wen-hao Wu.
Taiwan's lead frame manufacturers are showing signs of recovery, with a strategic focus on high-margin industries such as automotive electronics and high-end servers to boost profitability. This shift comes as demand for consumer electronics chip packaging and testing experiences a slight uptick in the latter part of the third quarter.
Elite Material, a top manufacturer of high-performance copper clad laminates (CCL), has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Zhen Ding, a global leader in PCB production. This partnership aims to enhance end-customer engagement, advance PCB material R&D, and promote smart, sustainable development.
Taiwanese IT and semiconductor equipment maker Hauman Technologies expects record revenue from its IT network division in 2024, driven by increasing demand for digital transformation. However, the company's semiconductor and optoelectronics division is expected to face weak momentum, according to CEO Lucy Su.
Key Ware, a leading manufacturer of PCB drilling equipment, anticipates a strong turnaround in the second half of 2024, driven by increasing demand in Artificial Intelligence (AI), electric vehicles (EVs), and low-orbit satellites. During its quarterly earnings call on August 22, company president Tsung-Wei Chu expressed confidence in overcoming previous losses and projected potential double-digit growth in revenue and profitability.
With AI applications flourishing and EV production continuing to rise, the passive component supply chain remains optimistic about future growth momentum.
Kenmec Mechanical Engineering saw lower-than-expected performance in the first half of 2024 due to fluctuations in the economy and construction delays, even though the company had already secured orders. However, in an August 21 statement, company CEO Frank Hsieh expects operations to return to normal in the second half of the year, making up for earlier delays.
Tongtai Machine & Tool is actively expanding its semiconductor equipment business to meet the increasing demand for AI device applications and anticipates revenue from this segment to grow as a proportion of company revenue.
Apaq Technology, a specialist in solid electrolytic capacitors, has acquired land adjacent to its existing plant in Malaysia for a second phase expansion, with construction expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Support from local foundries and backend houses in China is helping CMOS image sensor (CIS) firms obtain more orders, reducing the country's reliance on Sony, according to industry sources.
The international patent war over compound semiconductors, specifically Gallium Nitride (GaN), continues to intensify. In July, Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) from the US won a ruling from the US International Trade Commission (ITC) that found China's GaN leader Innoscience guilty of infringing one of its patents, making it difficult for the latter to enter the US market.
Market opportunities for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite applications have gained increasing attention since the Russia–Ukraine war began in 2022, which has showcased the significance of SpaceX's Starlink service in national defense. In addition to these geopolitical factors, the advent of satellite-connected smartphones that allow communication in remote areas without cell coverage also represents a massive opportunity for Taiwanese suppliers in the LEO satellite market.
