The continuous expansion of AI hashrate is driving the semiconductor expansion logic to extend from chip and wafer manufacturing to advanced packaging, optical interconnect, and testing. Surveys from three institutions indicate that highlights of this exhibition include the upgrade of advanced packaging to 3D system integration, continuous expansion of CoWoS with a shift to OSAT, accelerated mass production of CPO, testing becoming a new bottleneck, extended lead times for key equipment, and the maturation of the AI ASIC ecosystem.

UBS has raised its CoWoS capacity forecast for TSMC to 260,000 wafers per month by the end of 2027 and expects panel-level packaging CoPoS to enter mass production in 2028. Nomura points out that testing after EIC/PIC bonding in CPO manufacturing could become a bottleneck for mass production, with lead times for some equipment already extended to two years.