Global demand for Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS) and CoWoS-like packaging capacity will likely grow by 113% annually in 2025, driven by robust demand for cloud AI accelerators, according to DIGITIMES Research.
Major suppliers TSMC, ASE Technology Holding (including Siliconware Precision Industries, SPIL), and Amkor are expanding their production capacities. By the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, TSMC's monthly production capacity is expected to increase to over 65,000 12-inch wafers, while that of Amkor and ASE combined will increase to 17,000 wafers, according to DIGITIMES Research's latest report focusing on global CoWoS packaging technology and capacity.
DIGITIMES Research predicts that TSMC will transition from CoWoS-Short (CoWoS-S) to CoWoS-Long (CoWoS-L) process starting in the fourth quarter of 2025 due to the mass production of Nvidia's Blackwell series GPUs, making CoWoS-L the primary process for TSMC's CoWoS technology.
DIGITIMES Research has observed that Nvidia is significantly increasing its high-end GPU shipments to meet the demand for its GB200 systems, placing large orders for TSMC's CoWoS capacity. Meanwhile, companies like Broadcom and Marvell, which provide ASIC design services for Google and Amazon, have continuously increased wafer start orders.
Although there is ongoing concern about the gap between the capital investment in AI and actual revenue returns by cloud service providers (CSPs), DIGITIMES Research believes that CSPs will continue to be in an AI investment phase in 2025, driving demand for 2.5D advanced packaging globally.
Due to robust demand for CoWoS and similar packaging capacities, TSMC and ASE (including SPIL) are ramping up their related capacities to meet customers' needs. TSMC's CoWoS monthly packaging capacity is expected to surpass 65,000 wafers by the end of 2025, with Amkor and ASE combined increasing to 17,000 wafers. Nvidia is TSMC's largest customer for its CoWoS packaging process, the report's figures show.
Notably, TSMC's CoWoS process will shift from CoWoS-S to CoWoS-L due to the mass production of Nvidia's Blackwell series chips. Nvidia's demand for the CoWoS-L process will likely increase substantially to 380,000 wafers in 2025 from 32,000 in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 1,018%. Therefore, DIGITIMES Research estimates that in the fourth quarter of 2025, CoWoS-L will account for 54.6% of TSMC's total CoWoS capacity, with CoWoS-S at 38.5% and CoWoS-R (Revised) at 6.9%.
