TSMC CoWoS Shortage Benefits Amkor, UMC and ASE

According to reports from Taiwanese media on September 13, TSMC may double its CoWoS advanced packaging capacity by 2028 compared with 2026 levels. As capacity expansion takes time, the CoWoS capacity shortage is already creating opportunities for other advanced packaging players, including Amkor, UMC, and ASE.

Demand for TSMC’s CoWoS technology remains strong, while limited capacity has increased market interest in alternative packaging providers and technologies, such as Intel’s EMIB-T. The two architectures differ significantly. EMIB-T uses silicon bridges to establish high-density electrical connections and embeds the bridges within an organic substrate, with logic chips and HBM chips placed above them.

By comparison, CoWoS uses an interposer to enable communication between HBM, logic chips, and the main system. The interposer also incorporates vertical circuits based on through-silicon vias (TSVs), enabling higher bandwidth and lower latency. This architecture is particularly well suited to high-power AI processors used by companies such as NVIDIA.

Market sources indicate that TSMC’s CoWoS capacity is expected to reach approximately 130,000 12-inch wafer-equivalent units per month by the end of this year. The company reportedly plans to increase capacity to around 260,000 units per month by the end of 2028. The expansion is expected to focus mainly on TSMC’s Arizona facilities, AP9 and AP10, as well as the AP7 facility in Taiwan.

Although TSMC’s Arizona facilities are capable of producing its latest-generation chips, the company currently conducts all of its advanced packaging operations in Taiwan. As a result, wafers produced in the United States still need to be shipped back to Taiwan for packaging.

For Intel, its EMIB-T capacity could translate into approximately 15,000 to 20,000 12-inch wafer-equivalent units per month in 2027 and potentially 40,000 to 45,000 units per month in 2028. The EMIB-T architecture is considered particularly suitable for customized AI ASICs designed by companies such as Google and Amazon.

Industry sources said the shortage of TSMC’s CoWoS capacity has increased demand for advanced packaging services from other companies, including Amkor, UMC, and ASE.

TSMC Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei previously said during an earnings call that the company would continue to focus on advanced packaging while welcoming additional capacity from other companies to address shortages in later-stage manufacturing. TSMC has also significantly increased its 2026 capital expenditure budget to between $60 billion and $64 billion. The company said it has been working closely with equipment manufacturers in advance to prepare the required capacity and expects the expansion to proceed without major bottlenecks.