Taiwan Poised to Lead the Next Era of AI Semiconductor Growth, New Whitepaper Finds

Malaysia, 4 November 2026 – Taiwan is expected to play an increasingly important role in the global artificial intelligence (AI) industry as demand for advanced semiconductor technology and AI infrastructure continues to grow, according to a new whitepaper released by HCLTech.

The whitepaper, titled AI Semiconductor Platforms: Powering the Next Wave of Global Growth – An Asia Pacific Perspective, was developed by technology research firm Omdia. It examines Taiwan’s position in the global semiconductor industry and how the rapid expansion of AI is changing the way semiconductor technologies are developed and integrated.

According to the research, Taiwan-headquartered foundries account for more than half of the global foundry-services market, while Taiwanese original design manufacturers (ODMs) produce approximately 90% of the world’s server motherboards and 80% of server systems.

The whitepaper also highlights Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which accounts for more than 90% of the world’s leading-edge semiconductor production.

These figures demonstrate Taiwan’s influence across the AI infrastructure supply chain, extending beyond chip manufacturing to the production of complete AI server systems.

AI Growth Requires More Integrated Semiconductor Platforms

As AI applications become more advanced, the semiconductor industry is moving towards integrated platforms that combine computing power, memory, connectivity, advanced packaging and software.

Rather than focusing solely on individual chip performance, companies are increasingly required to ensure that different components work together efficiently to support large-scale AI workloads.

Ameer Saithu, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Semiconductor Business at HCLTech, said the industry’s competition is shifting towards delivering better overall performance and measurable outcomes.

He highlighted that successful AI semiconductor development depends on how well computing, memory, packaging, connectivity and software are designed together, with the ability to turn complex chip designs into scalable products becoming an important competitive advantage.

Taiwan’s Strength Across the Semiconductor Supply Chain

The whitepaper identifies Taiwan’s semiconductor advantage across several areas, including advanced manufacturing, packaging technologies and AI server production.

One important development is advanced packaging, which allows high-performance chips and high-bandwidth memory to be integrated into increasingly complex AI systems.

TSMC’s Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS) technology is highlighted as an example of how advanced packaging supports the development of high-performance AI infrastructure.

Taiwan also has a strong presence in semiconductor assembly and testing. ASE Technology Holding, the world’s largest outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) provider, holds approximately 40% of the global OSAT market.

The increasing complexity of AI infrastructure is also creating demand for more integrated systems. For example, NVIDIA’s GB200 NVL72 combines 72 graphics processing units (GPUs) and 36 central processing units (CPUs) within a single liquid-cooled rack.

This demonstrates the growing importance of coordinating computing power, connectivity, power management and cooling systems when developing large-scale AI infrastructure.

Asia’s Semiconductor Ecosystem Continues to Expand

Although Taiwan remains a central player, the whitepaper also highlights the growing contributions of other Asian markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and China.

These countries are developing capabilities across different stages of the semiconductor supply chain, such as manufacturing, packaging, testing and equipment production.

This wider regional participation is helping expand production capacity and strengthen supply chain resilience, while Taiwan continues to serve as a key centre connecting advanced manufacturing and AI infrastructure development.

Terry Tai, Country Head of Taiwan at HCLTech, noted that Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem extends from wafer manufacturing to complete server systems, making its capabilities difficult to replicate.

He added that the opportunity ahead lies in using these strengths to support faster and more resilient AI deployment.

Turning Semiconductor Innovation into Scalable AI Solutions

As AI continues to develop, the ability to integrate different technologies into complete systems is becoming increasingly important for businesses and technology providers.

Hong Ming Chang, Senior Director of Taiwan at HCLTech, highlighted the growing importance of Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem as demand for custom AI chips accelerates.

He explained that HCLTech combines its silicon engineering experience with an understanding of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry to help customers develop complex chip designs into scalable and manufacturable products.

HCLTech also provides semiconductor engineering services covering different stages of the silicon lifecycle, including design, verification, packaging, testing, deployment and ongoing support.

The whitepaper concludes that Taiwan is well positioned to remain an important part of the global AI infrastructure expansion. However, future industry leadership will depend not only on technological innovation but also on manufacturing capabilities, collaboration across the supply chain and the ability to deliver measurable business value.