"In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), no single corporations can do everything alone."
On the 3rd in Taipei, Taiwan, Terry Tsao, SEMI Taiwan president and global chief marketing officer (CMO), said the spread of AI is increasing the importance of collaboration within the semiconductor supply chain. Samsung Electronics and TSMC compete in the foundry (contract chip manufacturing) market, but SK hynix is a key partner to TSMC. Recently, Samsung Electronics has also been expanding its collaboration with TSMC as it enters the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) supply chain. The explanation is that in the AI era, supply chain collaboration that spans memory, foundry, and packaging is becoming even more important.
SEMI is a global semiconductor industry association whose members include semiconductor materials, equipment, components, and manufacturing corporations worldwide. Tsao said the spread of AI is broadening the scope of collaboration in the semiconductor supply chain. "As new products and new markets emerge, the ways corporations work together are also changing," Tsao said. "In the AI era, we need to work together for a bigger market."
Tsao particularly emphasized that new opportunities are opening up for Korean materials, parts, and equipment corporations. "Taiwan's semiconductor supply chain has never excluded Korean corporations and has always maintained an open structure," he said. "There is potential for collaboration in almost every field, including advanced packaging, AI hardware, and materials and equipment." Taiwanese manufacturers tend to choose the most competitive solutions rather than depend on a specific supplier. Expanded investment in AI infrastructure and growing demand for advanced packaging could also translate into business opportunities for Korea's materials, parts, and equipment corporations.
He predicted that demand for such collaboration will grow as the AI era takes hold. HBM, advanced packaging, and AI servers are areas that are difficult for any single corporations to accomplish on its own. "The bottleneck in today's AI market is not demand but hardware supply capacity," Tsao said. "As we move into the eras of agent AI, physical AI, and robots, more semiconductors will be needed." He added, "The future competitiveness of the semiconductor industry depends not only on technology but also on how strong a partnership you build," and "Global partnerships and co-innovation will be the core competitive edge." The following is a Q&A with Tsao.
—How do you view the potential for Korea–Taiwan cooperation in the AI era?
"AI is creating new models of collaboration. The partnership between SK hynix and TSMC is a representative example. Samsung Electronics is also widening the scope of collaboration as it enters the HBM supply chain. Many people see Samsung Electronics, TSMC, and SK hynix as pure competitors, but at the level of components and products, there is already extensive collaboration."
—Which areas could see cooperation going forward?
"Taiwan's supply chain has never excluded Korean materials and equipment corporations. We prefer a neutral model toward both suppliers and customers. There are opportunities to collaborate across the entire upstream and downstream, including advanced packaging, AI hardware, materials, and equipment."
—What are the strengths of Taiwan's semiconductor industry?
"Taiwanese corporations focus on what they do best. TSMC focuses on foundry, and ASE focuses on packaging. Industrial clusters and a strong engineering culture also enable fast decision-making and responsiveness."
—Do you think the AI Semiconductor boom will continue?
"Yes. We are in the early stages of building AI infrastructure. The current market is constrained by supply rather than demand. Semiconductor and server production capacity is not keeping up with demand. As the eras of agent AI and physical AI arrive, more semiconductors will be needed."
—What is the biggest challenge for Taiwan's semiconductor industry?
"First is geopolitical uncertainty. Second is maintaining technological leadership. Last is global cooperation. No country, and no corporations, can do everything alone. Future success depends on global partnerships."