[News] UMC Reportedly Lands Qualcomm Deal for Advanced Packaging, Mass Production in 1Q26

As UMC looks beyond mature nodes to drive growth, Economic Daily News suggests that the Taiwanese foundry has landed a major advanced packaging order from Qualcomm. Its self-developed high-end interposer has passed Qualcomm’s verification and is now nearing mass production, the report adds.

UMC’s first batch of interposers—tailored to meet Qualcomm’s IC and memory capacitance needs—has passed electrical testing and entered trial production, according to supply chain sources cited by Economic Daily News. Featuring 1500nF/mm² capacitors, the interposers are reportedly expected to enter mass production as early as Q1 2026.

The report notes that the two companies began collaborating in late 2024 to develop advanced packaging for high-performance computing, targeting markets like AI PCs, automotive chips, and the fast-growing AI servers. Their partnership is now bearing fruit, with UMC’s high-end interposer reportedly entering the final stages before shipment.

The report notes that UMC previously played a limited role in advanced packaging, mainly supplying interposers for RFSOI processes with minimal revenue impact. Now, with Qualcomm adopting its packaging tech for high-performance chips, the second largest foundry of Taiwan is poised for new growth while easing price pressure from China in the mature-node market, the report says.

The report highlights that advanced packaging relies on lithography tools to create interposers with ultra-precise TSVs, allowing smooth communication between stacked chips in 2.5D and 3D designs. UMC’s early experience applying TSV technology to AMD GPU orders a decade ago has helped it earn Qualcomm’s trust, according to Economic Daily News.

Notably, another report from Commercial Times suggests the company is considering expanding capacpity on advanced packaging by acquiring the facility of TFT-LCD panel maker HannStar in the Southern Taiwan Science Park. While UMC declines to comment, it states that it has already established 2.5D advanced packaging capacity in Singapore and has moved part of its process back to Taiwan. The company adds that further expansion in Taiwan remains a possibility, the report highlights.

Expanding Growth Avenues with a Fresh Look at 6nm

Notably, on the foundry side, UMC could also be preparing an unexpected return to the cutting-edge arena it once abandoned. According to Nikkei, the company is now eyeing 6nm production, with a focus on chips for Wi-Fi, RF, Bluetooth, AI accelerators, and processors used in TVs and vehicles.

While such a move typically requires massive capital outlay, Nikkei reports that UMC is considering expanding its partnership with Intel to help offset costs—potentially adding 6nm chips to their planned 12nm collaboration in Arizona, set to begin by 2027.

Read more

• [News] UMC Reportedly Eyes Southern Taiwan Facility for Advanced Packaging Expansion Beyond Singapore
• [News] UMC Reportedly Mulls Rejoining Advanced Node Race via Rumored Intel 6nm Tie-Up

(Photo credit: UMC)