AI-driven demand for advanced packaging is giving old-generation panel fabs and equipment new value. As Taiwan's panel makers accelerate the phaseout of LCD capacity at the 5.5 generation and below, they are splitting into two tracks: selling factories to foundries and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) providers, or keeping lines in-house to develop fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP), through-glass via (TGV), redistribution layer (RDL), and glass core technologies.
China's leading display manufacturers are stepping up investments across both LCD and OLED technologies, targeting larger TV panels and expanding into the fast-growing notebook OLED market as they seek new growth opportunities.
The display industry is edging toward a new competitive phase as South Korea and China intensify their rivalry over next-generation OLED technologies amid growing demand for AI-enabled devices.
AUO, Taiwan's largest display panel maker, has spent recent years shifting away from consumer LCD panels toward higher-value markets such as automotive, healthcare and industrial displays. That transformation is now under intense scrutiny.
LCD panels still account for more than 90% of automotive display shipments, but OLED has now crossed a critical qualification threshold in the sector. That progress stems from advances in Tandem OLED technology, which have significantly improved lifetime and reliability. As validation data accumulates and production costs decline, industry researchers expect automotive OLED adoption to accelerate after 2030.
Chinese display suppliers are expanding into South Korea's automotive supply chain as competition shifts beyond televisions and smartphones toward software-defined vehicles, where cockpit displays are becoming a defining part of the user experience.
AUO's board of directors on July 30 approved a change in senior management, appointing Chief Financial Officer Chang Po-Yi as the company's new president, following Frank Ko's resignation as president for personal reasons.
ams OSRAM is developing Micro LED-based optical data links for AI data centres, positioning the technology as a high-density, scalable alternative to copper interconnects. To support adoption, the company has built a high-precision simulation platform that evaluates Micro LED optical links under real AI workloads.
Corning has unveiled an early-stage fiber-to-chip connector concept that could reshape optical packaging if it matures, though the company says the technology is still far from commercial use. GlassBridge is aimed at passive alignment in advanced systems, underscoring the convergence of AI infrastructure, photonics, and packaging.
