Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is set to establish a new facility in Kaohsiung’s Baipu Industrial Park, aimed at accelerating the testing and validation processes for semiconductor materials and equipment. This initiative is a collaborative effort with Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Kaohsiung City Government. According to TSMC Vice President Jun He, the new site could boost validation efficiency by 25 to 50 percent.
The 3-hectare facility will comprise two buildings with modular setups, designed to adapt to the evolving landscape of semiconductor technologies. It will house small clean rooms and laboratories dedicated to testing, research, and joint development, particularly focusing on advanced packaging technologies, materials, and equipment. Furthermore, TSMC plans to use this site as a training base for specialists in advanced packaging and to foster connections between Taiwanese suppliers and the global semiconductor supply chains.
This expansion aligns with the surging demand for advanced packaging, driven by the proliferation of artificial intelligence. TSMC anticipates that its chip-on-wafer-on-substrate advanced packaging capacity will grow annually by more than 80 percent through the next year, with robust demand projected to persist until 2029.
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is poised for significant growth, with industry officials forecasting revenue to near $300 billion this year — a rise of over 40 percent from the previous year. Experts in the industry highlight that the increasing demand for AI is creating opportunities in areas such as memory, high-bandwidth technologies, advanced packaging, and silicon photonics, despite challenges related to energy supply, skilled workforce, and cybersecurity.