AI shifts semiconductor competition toward system integration: Experts

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping competition in the semiconductor industry, shifting the focus beyond transistor scaling to advanced packaging, materials and system-level integration, experts said at a Taiwan-Japan semiconductor technology forum yesterday.

Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute (TSRI) deputy director-general Tsai Hann-huei (蔡瀚輝) said advances in process-node technology were slowing while AI-driven demand for bandwidth continued to surge.

“Leadership will come from system-level co- optimization, not transistor scaling alone,” Tsai said at the forum in Taipei.

Future semiconductor systems will increasingly need to combine computing, sensing, power management and connectivity for applications such as automobiles, humanoid robots, AI glasses and drones, according to his