ASE sees AI demand stretching packaging capacity into 2030

ASE Holdings COO Dr. Tien Wu revealed that the global semiconductor industry is growing faster than expected due to AI investment, with demand so intense that the company's built capacity over recent ... Read original →

The AI compute arms race has thrust advanced packaging into the semiconductor industry’s critical bottleneck. ASE’s rapid capacity absorption underscores that high-density heterogeneous integration—like CoWoS and InFO—is no longer optional but essential for AI chips, forcing upgrades across equipment, materials, and EDA toolchains. Geopolitically, U.S. CHIPS Act incentives and EU subsidies are accelerating onshore packaging investments, yet talent scarcity and yield ramp timelines sustain near-term reliance on outsourced assembly in Taiwan, China, raising compliance overhead. Competitors like JCET and Amkor will aggressively target mid-tier HPC segments, while TSMC’s tripling of CoWoS capacity threatens to compress pure-play OSAT margins. Over the next 18 months, structural packaging shortages will accelerate industry-wide adoption of chiplet standardization and hybrid bonding—marking not just a tech race, but a realignment of supply chain sovereignty.