TSMC and Amkor Collaborate to Bring Advanced AI Chip Packaging to the U.S.

Amkor and TSMC team up for advanced packaging in the U.S. -- CoWoS and InFo to make AI and HPC CPUs

When Amkor announced plans to build a $1.6 billion chip test and packaging facility near Peoria, Arizona, it was clear that the company planned to serve TSMC's customers in the state. Apple is set to be Amkor's alpha client for the fab. However, the collaboration between TSMC and Amkor will be more profound as the latter intends to offer TSMC's CoWoS and InFo advanced packaging technologies for high-end AI, HPC, and mobile processors in the U.S. Amkor and TSMC on Friday said they had signed a memorandum of understanding to bring TSMC's proven advanced packaging technologies -- chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) and integrated fan-out (InFO) -- to the U.S. CoWoS is widely used for AI and HPC processors, such as Nvidia's H100/H200 and AMD's Instinct MI300-series. In contrast, InFO is used by Apple for its A-series application processors for smartphones (InFO_POP) and M-series processors for PCs and tablets (InFO_oS) as well as InFO_LSI for M-series Ultra system-in-packages for high-end systems like the Mac Pro and Mac Studio. "Amkor is proud to collaborate with TSMC to provide seamless integration of silicon manufacturing and packaging processes through an efficient turnkey advanced packaging and test business model in the United States," said Giel Rutten, Amkor's president and chief executive officer. A vital benefit of this collaboration is the proximity of TSMC's front-end wafer fab and Amkor's back-end packaging and testing facility. This geographical advantage is expected to enhance overall efficiency and speed up the production cycle for semiconductor products. A broader picture of the collaboration means that the U.S. will get advanced packaging capabilities for some of its crucial semiconductor companies and will be less reliant on Taiwan. Some questions remain, though. While TSMC announced plans to bring CoWoS and InFO technologies to the U.S., it did not specify which versions will be offered in America. While we can undoubtedly expect highly popular CoWoS-S, InFO_POP, and InFO_oS, it is unclear whether CoWoS-L (used for Nvidia Blackwell-based B100 and B200 processors) and InFO_LSI are coming to the U.S. as they are considerably different from the rest methods in their respective families. Yet, given how large Amkor's fab in America will be (200,000 m2 of specialized cleanroom space when fully built), the company can probably install all necessary equipment, even for exotic technologies aimed at ultra-high-performance processors. In addition to offering TSMC's popular and proven CoWoS and InFO packaging technologies, Amkor will likely provide its advanced packaging methods at its Peoria facility. "Our customers are increasingly depending on advanced packaging technologies for their breakthroughs in advanced mobile applications, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing, and TSMC is pleased to work side by side with a trusted longtime strategic partner in Amkor to support them with a more diverse manufacturing footprint," said Dr. Kevin Zhang, TSMC's Senior Vice President of Business Development and Global Sales, and Deputy Co-COO. "We look forward to close collaboration with Amkor at their Peoria facility to maximize the value of our fabs in Phoenix and provide more comprehensive services to our customers in the United States."

TSMC Inks Deal To Expand Arizona Plant's AI Packaging Capacity

This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has entered into a deal with the Arizona based chip packaging testing and services provider Amkor to expand the packaging capabilities of the Arizona fab. TSMC's Arizona foundry is slated to enter mass production next year, and with Q4 2024 underway, the fab is taking the final steps to set up its US semiconductor supply chain. According to the firm, the partnership will focus on TSMC's Integrated Fan Out (InFO) and CoWoS packaging technologies to address customers' needs relying on TSMC Arizona for their semiconductor products. Packaging technologies have become quite important in the age of artificial intelligence, and the sizable demand for advanced GPUs has strained their existing capacity. AI demand has also injected fresh life into TSMC's stock and made the firm allocate nearly $30 billion for capital expenditure in 2025 in order to expand chip production and packaging capacity. On the latter front, the firm also acquired a factory last year, which, according to estimates, has enabled it to meet its packaging capacity goals ahead of time. However, most of TSMC's packaging investments are in Taiwan, where all of the firm's existing leading edge chip fabrication capacity is housed. Consequently, the deal with Amkor announced earlier today expands TSMC's packaging footprint in the US, with the two companies aiming to beef up output by utilizing the proximity of their operations in Arizona. Arizona has a robust semiconductor supply chain due to Intel's presence. TSMC's Arizona fab has seen additional suppliers move to the state, and TSMC has also won billions of dollars in funding from the Biden Administration's CHIPS and Science Act to build advanced chip manufacturing facilities in America. As part of its deal with Amkor, TSMC will procure chip packaging and testing facilities from the firm's new facility in Peoria, Arizona. This $2 billion plant has also seen CHIPS funding after the Commerce Department announced $400 million in funds and $200 million in loans for the site in late July. The project is expected to create roughly 2,000 new jobs, and TSMC's deal reflects an uptick in cross-sectional semiconductor fabrication capacity expansion in Arizona that is helped by government incentives. TSMC aims to accelerate product cycle times by teaming up with Amkor as it leverages the proximity of the Arizona fab and the Peoria facility. The pair will focus on the Taiwanese fab's InFo and CoWoS chip packaging. InFo is used predominantly to package chips for smartphone and mobile applications, while CoWoS is the preferred technology of choice for artificial intelligence GPUs. The deal comes soon after the government allowed semiconductor facilities aided by Federal subsidies to be exempt from environmental impact assessments. Semiconductor fabrication is a resource-intensive process that requires extensive chemical use to ensure exacting levels of product purity.