Lead times for semiconductor packaging equipment have increased to 8 months as foundries struggle to keep pace with the demand for AI hardware. The supply crunch has led TSMC to prepare a price increase of up to 20% for its Chip on Wafer on Substrate (CoWoS) advanced packaging, reports citing supply chain sources say.
The cost adjustment comes as the use of CoWoS, which connects AI processors to high-bandwidth memory, expands beyond GPUs to include server CPUs and custom ASICs. TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei stated that packages five times the size of the largest printable chip are already in mass production. Monthly CoWoS capacity is estimated to exceed 130,000 wafers this year and reach 200,000 wafers by 2027.