TSMC is speeding up development of two advanced packaging facilities in Taiwan, contradicting concerns that its US investments might divert resources from domestic operations. The semiconductor giant will begin installing equipment at its Tainan AP8 and Chiayi AP7 plants in April and August respectively, several months ahead of the original schedule.
The Chiayi AP7 facility, initially delayed by archaeological discoveries, is now progressing rapidly with equipment installation moved up from year-end to August. It will prioritize SoIC (System on Integrated Chips) technology, while Tainan’s AP8 will focus on expanding CoWoS (Chip on Wafer on Substrate) capacity.
Industry sources reveal that Chiayi’s P1 plant will produce WMCM (Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module) technology – a hybrid of InFo and CoWoS concepts reportedly destined for future Apple devices. TSMC’s monthly SoIC capacity is expected to reach 10,000 wafers this year, potentially doubling in 2026.
Apple, AMD, NVIDIA and Broadcom are the primary customers for TSMC’s SoIC technology. Apple plans to incorporate SoIC-mH in its M5 chips, while NVIDIA and Broadcom collaborations target silicon photonics and CPO applications.
Equipment suppliers including Horng Plating, Scientech, Marketech, and members of the G2C alliance are expected to benefit from TSMC’s accelerated packaging expansion throughout 2025.
