[News] AUO Sells Singapore Plant to Western Digital for NT$8.75B Amid Shift to Advanced Packaging, Micro LED CPO

Taiwanese panel maker AUO is continuing to monetize underutilized assets while stepping up investment in advanced packaging and other higher-value technologies. According to Commercial Times, AUO announced on September 2 that it will sell its AFPD facility in Singapore and related building facilities to Western Digital (Singapore) for approximately NT$8.753 billion. Together with the previously announced sales of its Huaya and Kaohsiung plants, AUO’s asset disposals this year total about NT$34.7 billion.

As the report indicates, AUO has said at earnings briefings that it continues to review the operating efficiency and value creation of its plants, with unused space to be revitalized to fund investment in new businesses. In late July, its board approved two such asset revitalization deals: the Huaya plant was sold to Taiwanese server maker Quanta for NT$19.7 billion, generating a disposal gain of about NT$13.39 billion, while the Kaohsiung plant was sold to semiconductor packaging and testing giant ASE for NT$6.3 billion, with a disposal gain of about NT$4.28 billion.

The asset sales come as AUO redirects investment toward other higher-value businesses. Commercial Times notes that its board recently approved an additional NT$8.641 billion capital expenditure budget for value-added products, part of which will fund pilot lines for advanced packaging technologies. Chairman Paul Peng said AUO has made progress in TGV and RDL processes as well as optical communications.

As noted by MoneyDJ, AUO plans to build pilot lines for through-glass via (TGV), redistribution layer (RDL), and glass core substrate technologies in the second half of 2026. The push builds on AUO’s long-established capabilities in panel manufacturing, glass substrates, circuit fabrication, and heterogeneous integration, which institutional investors cited by the report say can be extended beyond advanced packaging to higher-value applications including low-Earth-orbit satellites and Micro LED optical communications. However, these technologies will still require time to mass production, with more meaningful contributions to AUO’s operations expected after 2030, the report notes.

From Glass Processing to AI Packaging and Optical Interconnects

Notably, at SEMICON Taiwan 2026, AUO is showcasing its latest developments in two key areas targeting AI infrastructure: glass core substrates for advanced semiconductor packaging and Micro LED CPO for high-speed optical interconnects, according to another report from Commercial Times.

For advanced packaging, AUO is working with Corning to develop glass core substrates, combining Corning’s semiconductor-grade glass with AUO’s RDL process technology. In optical communications, AUO is applying the same broader optoelectronic integration capabilities to a system-level Micro LED CPO optical module developed with ecosystem partners. According to the company, the solution targets high-speed, short-reach interconnects of up to 10 meters in AI data centers and uses a parallel Micro LED architecture designed to reduce reliance on power-intensive signal compensation while lowering thermal management requirements.

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(Photo credit: AUO)