Samsung Electro-Mechanics will establish a joint venture with Dongwoo Fine-Chem, a subsidiary of Japan's Sumitomo Chemical Group, to produce Glass Core, a key material for glass substrates. The plan is to secure next-generation substrate materials and manufacturing capabilities in response to growing demand for semiconductor packages for artificial intelligence (AI) servers and high-performance computing (HPC).
Samsung Electro-Mechanics said on the 2nd that it signed a definitive agreement with Dongwoo Fine-Chem to establish a joint venture for Glass Core production. The tentative name of the joint venture is GlaSSEM. The company name reflects the meanings of Glass, Samsung, Sumitomo, Electronic, and Materials.
GlaSSEM will be established as a corporation in Korea. Its main business is the manufacture and sale of Glass Core. Capital will be 482.1 billion won, with a total of 96.42 million shares issued. Samsung Electro-Mechanics will acquire 63.82 million shares to hold 66.2% equity. The acquisition amount is 319.1 billion won, equivalent to 3.3% of its equity capital.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics plans to acquire GlaSSEM shares on Sept. 1 through a cash contribution of 239.1 billion won and an in-kind contribution of 80 billion won. The joint venture's headquarters and production base will be set up inside Dongwoo Fine-Chem's Pyeongtaek plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
Glass Core is a key material for glass substrates. Compared with existing plastic-based organic substrate materials, glass substrates have a lower coefficient of thermal expansion and higher flatness. They are advantageous for implementing large-area, high-density semiconductor packages and are drawing attention as next-generation substrates in the AI server and HPC semiconductor package markets.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics plans to secure a stable manufacturing and supply base for Glass Core through the joint venture. It will push to commercialize glass substrates by combining Samsung Electro-Mechanics' semiconductor substrate design and manufacturing capabilities with Sumitomo Chemical Group's materials technology and Dongwoo Fine-Chem's production infrastructure.
GlaSSEM will proceed in stages with building production facilities, stabilizing processes, and verifying quality. The target for full-scale operation is the second half of 2027. Samsung Electro-Mechanics said it will proactively respond to demand from global big tech corporations to adopt glass substrates.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics President Chang Duck-hyun said, "Establishing this joint venture is a strategic choice to secure the core competitiveness of Glass Core in advance," adding, "We will maximize the synergy between the two companies and lead the paradigm of the next-generation semiconductor substrate market."
Separately, Samsung Electro-Mechanics also announced a mid- to long-term investment strategy to strengthen competitiveness in the high-performance package substrate business. The company plans to build a global manufacturing hub for high-performance package substrates in Sejong and expand facilities for AI server package substrates. The investment period will be from 2026 to 2040. The expected investment amount is about 8 trillion won. Samsung Electro-Mechanics will also pursue research and development (R&D) investment for core technologies and talent development. The company said the plan is a future plan based on current market conditions.