Rapidus' plan to begin volume production of 2nm chips in the second half of FY2027 remains on schedule, with rising demand from AI chips and data centers providing a stronger-than-expected tailwind, CEO Atsuyoshi Koike told Reuters.

Taiwan is accelerating its drive for semiconductor materials self-reliance by starting with consumables and building toward higher-value physical materials, Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) said on August 21. Kuo-chan Chiou, director of ITRI's Material and Chemical Research Laboratories, said the island's materials supply chain is strengthening its capabilities as competition intensifies among Taiwan, Japan, and the US.

As chip processes move to 2nm and advanced packaging accelerates heterogeneous integration, semiconductor materials are shifting from a supporting role in the supply chain to a critical factor in technological breakthroughs. SEMI has announced the formation of the "SEMI Semiconductor Materials Alliance," bringing together 35 materials, equipment, wafer fabrication, packaging, and testing companies, as well as industry, government, academia, and research organizations, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), ASE, and Micron Technology, to speed material validation for emerging technologies such as co-packaged optics (CPO) and panel-level packaging (PLP), with the goal of accelerating mass production.