Samsung Electro-Mechanics projected that a supply shortage of high-value semiconductor substrates (FC-BGA) will worsen as AI Semiconductor chips become larger and higher performance. The company said it will push to expand production capacity while discussing long-term supply agreements (LTA), including investment support, with major AI Semiconductor companies.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics said at its second-quarter earnings conference call on the 30th, "The AI industry is rapidly shifting from a training focus to an inference and reasoning focus," and added, "As global semiconductor corporations actively develop in-house AI chips specialized for inference, the number of companies participating in the AI Semiconductor market is also increasing rapidly."
The company explained that as AI chip performance improves, the technical complexity of package substrates is rising in tandem.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics said, "As AI chips become larger and the number of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) modules installed increases, semiconductor substrates are evolving into ultra-large, high-layer structures," adding, "Accordingly, substrate makers are consuming more production capacity, and the supply shortage is intensifying."
In particular, it emphasized that advanced substrates incorporating multicore and embedded component technologies have high technical barriers, limiting the number of companies able to supply them.
The company explained, "Demand for high-value substrates based on multicore and embedded technologies from major clients is growing rapidly, but only a few corporations can mass-produce them," adding, "These constrained supply conditions are making the supply and demand of advanced substrates even tighter."
In response, Samsung Electro-Mechanics said it is discussing long-term supply agreements, including investment support, with major semiconductor companies related to AI and data centers.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics said, "We are discussing long-term supply agreements, including investment support, with most global top-tier semiconductor corporations related to AI and data centers, and based on this, we plan to establish future production capacity expansion plans."
It will also expand joint development of next-generation semiconductor substrates. The company said, "We are strengthening joint development cooperation with clients on next-generation substrates and focusing on securing differentiated technological competitiveness," adding, "We will expand production capacity in a timely manner to meet customer demand and sustainably grow the AI Semiconductor substrate business over the mid to long term."