The semiconductor industry is experiencing something it's never seen before, and Jim Straus has a front-row seat to the transformation as Vice President of Sales at ACM Research. After years of watching American chip manufacturing drift overseas, the industry is finally witnessing a potential renaissance on home soil, driven by an AI revolution that's consuming chips faster than manufacturers can produce them.
The AI Boom Reshaping Semiconductors
The numbers behind the semiconductor surge are staggering, and they tell a story about the reality of AI's impact on the physical world. According to recent analysis from McKinsey, the semiconductor market reached $775 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit $1.6 trillion by 2030, far surpassing earlier conservative estimates that placed the market around $1 trillion. That's not just growth, that's a fundamental restructuring of the entire industry driven almost entirely by AI demand.
Deloitte predicts that generative AI chips alone will approach $500 billion in revenue in 2026, representing roughly half of global chip sales. Think about that for a moment, half the world's chip revenue from a technology that didn't exist commercially just a few years ago. The scale is remarkable, and it's creating what Creative Strategies is calling a "giga cycle" in semiconductor demand, where every segment from compute to memory to networking is growing simultaneously rather than in isolated pockets.
IDC forecasts the global semiconductor market will grow by 15% in 2025 to reach $800 billion, with AI and high-performance computing driving the acceleration. Advanced node capacity for chips at 7 nanometers and below is expected to increase by an astounding 69% from 2024 to 2028, according to SEMI's 300mm Fab Outlook report. That means manufacturers need to more than double their production of the most cutting-edge chips in just four years.
The Waste Problem Nobody Talks About
Here's the thing about semiconductor manufacturing that most people never think about until someone like Straus explains it on a podcast, we're building square chips on round wafers, and the math doesn't work in our favor. When you're trying to pack square chips onto a circular 300mm wafer, you're wasting massive amounts of silicon around the edges where the shapes don't align. It's like trying to pack square boxes into a round container, you're always going to have dead space that accomplishes nothing except adding to your costs and environmental footprint.
For years, the industry just accepted this as the cost of doing business because that's how semiconductor manufacturing worked. But with AI driving chip sizes larger and demand higher, those efficiency losses became increasingly unacceptable. According to research from Yole Group, panel-level packaging can achieve up to 20% to 30% cost savings over traditional fan-out wafer-level packaging for high-throughput applications, and those savings come primarily from eliminating the waste inherent in circular processing.
ACM Research is tackling this problem head-on through panel-level packaging technology, and the implications are enormous for both economics and sustainability. By switching from circular 300mm wafers to square panels measuring 515mm x 510mm or even 600mm x 600mm, manufacturers can dramatically increase the usable area for chip production. A 600mm x 600mm panel offers more than five times the effective area of a 300mm silicon wafer, according to IDTechEx, and traditional silicon wafers have a utilization rate of less than 85% while panels exceed 95%.
The result according to multiple industry sources is potentially lowering overall costs by more than 60% while simultaneously reducing material waste by eliminating the circular-to-square mismatch problem. Straus estimates the waste reduction and efficiency gains could save manufacturers 30% to 50% in both cost and materials, which sounds like a semiconductor manufacturer's dream when you're trying to meet unprecedented demand while also addressing sustainability mandates from downstream customers.
From Wet Clean To Revolutionary Packaging
ACM Research didn't start with panel-level packaging, they built their reputation on something far less glamorous but equally essential in semiconductor manufacturing, single wafer wet clean systems. These are the machines that clean semiconductor wafers between each of the hundreds of steps required to build a modern chip, and in an industry where microscopic contamination can ruin entire batches, the quality of your wet clean process literally makes or breaks your yield numbers.
The company was founded in 1998 in Fremont, California by Dr. David Wang, who saw an opportunity that most American manufacturers missed at the time. While the U.S. semiconductor industry was largely focused on design and high-level innovation, Wang invested heavily in manufacturing operations in Asia, specifically Shanghai and Korea, where he established both manufacturing and R&D facilities. That decision positioned ACM Research perfectly for the decades to come, as Asia became the epicenter of global semiconductor production.
For years, ACM grew steadily at approximately 50% year-over-year, an extraordinary growth rate sustained over six or seven consecutive years according to Straus. The company's wet clean and electroplating technology became indispensable to major chip manufacturers. But the technology that made ACM's reputation was their innovative use of energy in the cleaning process, applying ultrasonic and other energy-based techniques to remove contaminants without destroying the increasingly delicate structures of advanced semiconductor wafers.
As chip features shrunk to smaller and smaller dimensions, the challenge became cleaning those incredibly tiny spaces between structures without causing the structures to collapse. Think of it like power-washing between individual threads of fabric without destroying the weave, it requires precise control of energy application. ACM's equipment mastered this challenge, giving them a distinct advantage as customers measured demonstrable yield improvements when using ACM tools versus competitor systems.
The Pivot To Panel-Level Packaging
The transition from wet clean expertise to panel-level packaging leadership wasn't random, it was strategic recognition of where the industry needed to go. As AI chips grew larger and more complex, the packaging side of semiconductor manufacturing became a critical bottleneck. TSMC's chip-on-wafer-on-substrate process called CoWoS, which is currently used to package Nvidia's most advanced chips, has been hitting capacity and yield constraints according to TSMC's own earnings calls. The industry desperately needed an alternative approach that could scale faster.
Panel-level packaging offered that solution, but it required completely rethinking the manufacturing process. ACM Research introduced one of the first horizontal electroplating tools specifically designed for panel-level packaging, replacing the vertical plating systems that had been standard practice for decades. That innovation alone improved uniformity dramatically, reducing non-uniformity from around 15% with vertical systems to approximately 5% with the horizontal approach. When you're trying to maximize yield on increasingly expensive chips, that improvement in uniformity translates directly to money saved and production capacity gained.
The move to panel-level packaging also aligns perfectly with the broader industry shift toward advanced packaging techniques. As we hit the physical limits of how small we can make individual transistors, the industry is increasingly turning to advanced packaging to continue improving chip performance through better integration of multiple components. Technologies like 2.5D packaging with interposers and 3D stacking are becoming standard practice for high-performance chips, and panel-level processing makes these advanced techniques more economically viable at scale.
Yole Group estimates the panel-level packaging market achieved about $160 million in revenue and processed almost 80,000 panels in 2024, equivalent to roughly 330,000 standard 300mm wafers. By 2030, the market could reach more than $650 million with approximately 220,000 panels produced annually. That represents a quadrupling of the market in just six years, and ACM Research is positioning itself at the forefront of that growth.
Bringing Semiconductor Manufacturing Home
One of the most remarkable aspects of Straus's story is the emphasis on bringing advanced semiconductor manufacturing capability back to American soil. After decades of watching manufacturing capacity migrate overseas, the combination of government incentives, supply chain concerns, and the strategic importance of chip production is finally reversing that trend. ACM Research is investing heavily in the Portland, Oregon area, where they've purchased a building and are revamping cleanroom facilities to create both manufacturing space and R&D capability.
This isn't just symbolic window-dressing for political purposes, it's a serious bet on the future of American semiconductor manufacturing. The facility will have demonstration capability so North American customers can readily access ACM's technology without needing to travel abroad, dramatically shortening the sales cycle and technical support process. More importantly, it signals ACM's confidence that there will be substantial domestic demand for advanced packaging equipment as new fabs come online in the United States.
The timing couldn't be better given the industry-wide push toward expanded U.S. capacity. According to recent SIA data, U.S. semiconductor sales increased by 44.8% in 2024 compared to 2023, far outpacing the global growth rate of 19.1%. The United States is projected to triple its domestic chip manufacturing capacity by 2032, which will require massive investments in both fabrication equipment and packaging technology. Companies like ACM Research that can provide cutting-edge wet clean and packaging systems will be essential partners in making that capacity expansion successful.
Straus emphasizes that the real opportunity is being close to customers and providing the service and technical capability that ACM has developed in Asia but applied to North American operations. Semiconductor manufacturing is intensely collaborative, especially during the development phase when new processes are being qualified and optimized. Having local manufacturing, R&D, and technical support dramatically accelerates that collaboration and gives customers confidence that ACM will be there to support production ramps and troubleshoot issues when they inevitably arise.
The Economics Of Panel-Level Packaging
Understanding why panel-level packaging matters requires understanding the economics of advanced chip production in the AI era. According to multiple industry sources, panel-level formats can achieve up to 20% to 30% cost savings over fan-out wafer-level packaging for applications requiring high throughput, and those savings come primarily from the larger processing area that panels provide. When you can process five times as much effective area on a single panel compared to a 300mm wafer, you're spreading fixed costs across far more output, which drives unit costs down substantially.
But the benefits extend beyond simple cost reduction. Panel-level packaging enables manufacturers to build larger, more complex packages that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with wafer-level processing. The AI chips that hyperscalers are deploying in massive data centers often use multi-reticle designs, essentially stitching together multiple exposure fields to create chips larger than the maximum size that lithography equipment can expose in a single shot. These multi-reticle packages can reach 800mm² or larger per chip, and when you're packaging two of them together, you're dealing with truly massive dies that strain the limits of circular wafer processing.
The shift to panel-level packaging also supports sustainability initiatives that are becoming increasingly important to downstream customers. Major technology companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have committed to ambitious environmental targets, and they're pushing those requirements upstream to their suppliers. Reducing semiconductor manufacturing waste by 30% to 50% through more efficient panel utilization directly addresses those sustainability mandates while also lowering costs, creating a rare win-win scenario where environmental and economic incentives align perfectly.
Fan-out panel-level packaging specifically is gaining traction because it offers scalability and cost efficiency that traditional approaches struggle to match. TSMC is reportedly planning to transition from CoWoS (Chip on Wafer on Substrate) to CoPoS (Chip on Panel on Substrate) for certain high-end packages, switching from round to square processing on similar 300mm equivalent dimensions before eventually moving to larger panels. That transition by the world's most advanced semiconductor manufacturer validates the panel-level approach and signals where the industry is heading.
The Challenge Of Panel-Level Precision
Transitioning from wafer-level to panel-level packaging isn't simply a matter of using larger substrates, it introduces significant technical challenges that companies like ACM Research are working to solve. Warpage is one of the most significant issues, as larger panels are more susceptible to bending and distortion during processing, which can throw off the precision alignment required for advanced packaging. When you're working with features measured in micrometers or even nanometers, even tiny amounts of warpage can ruin entire batches.
Process uniformity across large panels also presents challenges, as it's inherently more difficult to maintain consistent processing conditions across a 600mm x 600mm area compared to a 300mm circular wafer. ACM Research's horizontal electroplating system addresses this by changing the fundamental orientation of the plating process, which helps achieve better uniformity through more consistent fluid dynamics and current distribution. That innovation reducing non-uniformity from 15% to 5% represents the kind of incremental improvement that sounds small but makes enormous difference in manufacturing economics.
Alignment and overlay accuracy become more challenging with larger panels as well, since any small angular error gets magnified across the larger distance from center to edge. This requires extremely precise handling systems and advanced metrology to ensure that each processing step aligns correctly with previous steps. The industry is working toward standardization through efforts like SEMI's 3D20 specification, which provides standards for panel characteristics to enable broader equipment compatibility, but there's still substantial work to be done before panel-level processing reaches the maturity and reliability of established wafer-level processes.
Despite these challenges, the economic and performance benefits are compelling enough that major players throughout the supply chain are investing heavily in panel-level capabilities. OSATs (outsourced assembly and test providers) like Amkor, ASE, and PTI have all announced panel-level packaging initiatives. Material suppliers are developing new substrates and bonding materials specifically optimized for panel processing. EDA tool vendors are updating their design software to support panel-level workflows. The entire ecosystem is aligning around panel-level packaging as a key enabler of future chip production.
Co-Creating The Future Of Semiconductors
One theme Straus returns to repeatedly is the collaborative nature of semiconductor equipment development, what he calls "co-creation" with customers. Unlike consumer products where manufacturers can develop solutions in isolation and then market them to customers, semiconductor equipment development requires deep integration with customer roadmaps and processes from the very beginning. Equipment vendors need to understand not just what customers need today but what they'll need in two or three years when the equipment finally gets qualified and enters production.
This long development timeline means semiconductor equipment companies are constantly betting on future technology directions, hoping their customers' roadmaps align with industry trends and that the technology they're developing will actually be needed when it's ready. Straus emphasizes the importance of aligning roadmaps with customers, working closely to develop products that will meet future needs rather than just solving today's problems. That requires trust and transparency on both sides, as customers need to share confidential roadmap information and equipment vendors need to commit substantial R&D resources based on those discussions.
The payoff for getting this right is substantial, as companies that successfully co-develop solutions with leading chipmakers can establish long-term partnerships that span multiple technology generations. When a customer qualifies your equipment for a critical process step, there's significant inertia that keeps them using your equipment for years because the cost and risk of switching to a competitor is so high. This creates something of a moat around successful equipment vendors, though it also means missing a technology transition can be devastating if customers switch to a competitor's next-generation platform.
ACM Research's success with both wet clean and electroplating technology demonstrates the company’s ability to execute this co-development approach effectively. Building equipment that measurably improves customer yield creates a powerful value proposition that transcends price competition. When a chipmaker can demonstrate that using ACM equipment versus a competitor's tool results in higher production yield, the ROI calculation becomes straightforward even if ACM's equipment carries a premium price. In an industry where every percentage point of yield can represent millions of dollars annually, equipment that consistently delivers better results essentially sells itself.
The AI Infrastructure Build-Out
The semiconductor boom isn't happening in isolation, it's part of a massive build-out of AI infrastructure that's reshaping data center economics and capacity planning across the technology industry. Organizations are expected to spend $630 billion on AI by 2028 according to KPMG, up from $235 billion in 2024, representing a nearly 30% compound annual growth rate. Generative AI currently represents about 17% of global AI spending and is expected to grow to 32% by 2028, driven by the rapid deployment of large language models and other AI applications.
That spending translates directly into chip demand, particularly for specialized AI accelerators and the high-bandwidth memory required to feed them. AI accelerators alone, which accounted for under $100 billion in 2024, are projected to reach $300 billion to $350 billion by 2029 or 2030. The AI server market is forecast to climb from about $140 billion in 2024 to as much as $850 billion by 2030, a trajectory that will reshape chip demand across the industry according to Creative Strategies analysis.
High-bandwidth memory represents another critical constraint in AI chip production. HBM revenue is forecast to grow from roughly $16 billion in 2024 to more than $100 billion by 2030, driven by the insatiable memory requirements of large AI models. Each generation of HBM consumes a larger share of wafer supply than conventional DRAM, pushing the broader memory market upward as AI clusters scale. Advanced packaging techniques are essential for integrating HBM with logic chips efficiently, creating another driver for technologies like panel-level packaging that can handle the complexity of these integrated systems.
The capacity expansion required to meet this demand is staggering. TSMC's CoWoS production capacity is projected to expand by more than 60% from the end of 2025 to the end of 2026 alone, and even that may not be sufficient to meet demand from customers like Nvidia, AMD, and various hyperscalers. TSMC is reportedly moving toward panel-level processing for certain packages to further increase capacity and reduce costs, validating the strategic direction that ACM Research has been pursuing with their panel-level equipment development.
Beyond The Hype
While the AI boom is generating extraordinary growth right now, Straus and ACM Research are positioning for a future that extends beyond any single application or market cycle. Semiconductor manufacturing is ultimately about enabling the next generation of electronic devices across every industry, from automotive to healthcare to telecommunications to industrial automation. Advanced packaging techniques like panel-level processing will be relevant regardless of whether AI continues growing at current rates or whether the market consolidates after the initial infrastructure build-out.
The automotive sector alone represents enormous opportunity as vehicles transition from mechanical systems to software-defined platforms packed with sensors, processors, and communication systems. Modern cars can contain hundreds of individual chips, and the move toward autonomous driving capabilities will only increase that chip content substantially. After experiencing inventory corrections in 2024, the automotive semiconductor market is projected to gradually recover in 2025 and beyond, providing another growth vector for companies that can supply the packaging technology required for automotive-grade chips.
Industrial and aerospace applications are also driving demand for advanced semiconductors and packaging, particularly as edge AI capabilities get deployed in manufacturing facilities, logistics operations, and defense systems. These applications often have different requirements than data center chips, prioritizing reliability, environmental tolerance, and long operational lifetimes over absolute peak performance. Panel-level packaging can address these markets effectively by enabling cost-efficient production of mid-range chips that don't require the most cutting-edge processes but still benefit from advanced packaging techniques.
The telecommunications infrastructure build-out to support 5G and eventually 6G networks represents yet another growth driver, as networking equipment requires increasingly sophisticated chips to handle higher data rates and lower latency requirements. Semiconductor demand for data center networking and wired/wireless infrastructure is projected to grow 13% in 2025 according to IDC, as cloud providers, telcos, and enterprises upgrade networks to support AI workloads and low-latency services. High-capacity Ethernet switches, smart NICs, and optical interconnects all rely on advanced packaging to achieve their performance targets.
The View From Portland
As Straus talks about ACM Research's expansion plans in the Portland area, there's palpable optimism about the future of American semiconductor manufacturing that goes beyond typical corporate messaging. The investment in local manufacturing and R&D capability represents a meaningful bet that domestic chip production will not only survive but thrive in the coming decades. That optimism is grounded in concrete market trends, the strategic importance of semiconductor supply chain security, government incentives, and the simple reality that AI demand is creating more opportunity than any single region can capture alone.
The facility in Portland will serve multiple functions beyond just manufacturing equipment, it will be a demonstration center where customers can evaluate ACM's technology hands-on, a service hub providing rapid technical support to North American customers, and an R&D location where new processes can be developed in collaboration with local chipmakers. This integrated approachd represents a long-term commitment to the North American market rather than just a token presence for appearances.
For customers, having local access to ACM's advanced wet clean and packaging technology reduces the risk and timeline associated with evaluating and qualifying new equipment. Instead of coordinating trips abroad or relying solely on remote communication, engineering teams can drive to Portland and work directly with ACM's equipment and applications engineers to optimize processes for their specific needs. That hands-on collaboration is invaluable during the critical qualification phase when subtle process adjustments can make the difference between acceptable and exceptional results.
The broader Portland area is increasingly becoming a semiconductor hub, with existing operations from Intel and other companies providing a skilled workforce and established ecosystem of suppliers and service providers. ACM's investment both benefits from and contributes to that ecosystem, creating a virtuous cycle where semiconductor manufacturing capability attracts more investment, which in turn strengthens the local industry. It's the kind of regional industrial cluster that has historically driven innovation in industries from automotive to aerospace to biotechnology.
The Road Ahead
Looking forward, Straus sees the next 12 months bringing significant challenges around the transition to panel-level packaging that go beyond just technology development. The industry needs to converge on standards for panel sizes, handling systems, and process specifications to enable the kind of interoperability and equipment reuse that makes manufacturing economically viable. Without standardization, every customer's panel-level facility becomes a custom engineering project, which drives up costs and slows deployment.
The economics also need to prove out at scale, while the theoretical benefits of panel-level packaging are compelling at 20% to 30% cost savings and 30% to 50% waste reduction, real-world implementation needs to achieve these results consistently across high-volume production. Early adopters are essentially paying a premium to work through the learning curve, but as processes mature and yields improve, the economic advantage should become increasingly clear. Companies that establish leadership positions during this transition phase will likely maintain those advantages for years as customers build out capacity around their platforms.
Workforce development represents another critical challenge, as panel-level packaging requires somewhat different skills and knowledge compared to traditional wafer processing. Process engineers, equipment technicians, and manufacturing operators all need training on the new systems and processes, and the industry is competing for that talent with other high-tech sectors that are also expanding rapidly. Companies like ACM Research that invest in training and support capabilities will differentiate themselves by helping customers get up to speed faster and achieve production-ready yields sooner.
From a technology perspective, the march toward smaller process nodes continues even as advanced packaging becomes more critical. The industry is moving toward 2nm technology nodes reaching mass production in 2026, followed by commercial deployment of 1.4nm technology in 2028 according to SEMI forecasts. These incredibly small feature sizes create even more demanding requirements for wet clean processes that can remove contamination without destroying delicate structures, playing directly to ACM Research's core strengths. The combination of advanced nodes with advanced packaging creates multiplicative complexity that requires best-in-class equipment throughout the process flow.
The Human Element
Throughout the conversation, what comes through clearly is Straus's deep appreciation for the collaborative nature of semiconductor manufacturing and the importance of the human relationships that make the industry work. Despite all the advanced technology and massive capital investments, semiconductor manufacturing ultimately depends on engineers, technicians, and managers working together to solve extraordinarily complex technical challenges. The equipment ACM Research builds is sophisticated and expensive, with individual systems costing millions of dollars, but those machines only deliver value when operated by skilled people who understand how to optimize processes for specific applications.
This human element is one reason why bringing manufacturing capability back to the United States matters beyond just supply chain security or economic nationalism. Having local manufacturing creates jobs, builds expertise, and develops an ecosystem of talent that can drive innovation for decades. When young engineers can see semiconductor fabs operating in their region and imagine careers in chip manufacturing, it creates a pipeline of talent that feeds the industry long-term. When universities can partner with local manufacturers on research projects, it accelerates technology development and ensures academic programs stay relevant to industry needs.
The semiconductor industry has always been global, with design happening in one country, manufacturing in another, and assembly in a third, and that global nature isn't changing. But having strong domestic capability in all aspects of the supply chain, from equipment manufacturing to chip fabrication to advanced packaging, creates resilience and reduces vulnerability to supply chain disruptions. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how fragile just-in-time global supply chains can be when borders close and logistics break down. Building redundancy and regional capability makes sense even if it sacrifices some theoretical efficiency.
The Innovation Imperative
As the conversation winds down, Straus returns to themes of innovation and continuous improvement that define companies that succeed long-term in the semiconductor equipment industry. It's not enough to have a great product today, you need to be developing the next generation of technology that will meet customer needs three or five years from now when current roadmaps reach their limits. That requires substantial R&D investment and willingness to take technical and commercial risks on emerging technologies that may or may not pan out.
ACM Research's track record of 50% year-over-year growth sustained over six or seven years suggests they're getting this innovation equation right, continuously introducing new capabilities that customers value enough to adopt despite the costs and risks of changing qualified equipment. The horizontal electroplating system for panel-level packaging is one example of this innovation drive, taking a well-established process (electroplating) and completely rethinking the approach to achieve better results for a new application (panel-level substrates). That kind of innovation requires deep understanding of both the underlying physics and the practical manufacturing challenges customers face.
Looking at the broader industry trajectory, the semiconductor boom driven by AI represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for companies positioned to capitalize on it, but it also creates enormous pressure to execute flawlessly while demand is strong. Companies that can scale production rapidly, maintain quality, and support customers effectively through this period of explosive growth will emerge stronger and better positioned for whatever comes next. Those that stumble, whether through supply chain failures, quality issues, or simple inability to meet demand, risk losing market share that may never be recovered.
For ACM Research, the path forward combines scaling existing successful product lines like wet clean systems while simultaneously developing next-generation technologies like panel-level packaging equipment that will drive growth in the coming years. It's a classic innovator's dilemma, balancing the need to maximize returns from current products while investing heavily in technologies that may eventually disrupt those same products. Managing that tension successfully separates companies that lead industries from those that follow.
The Bigger Picture
Stepping back from the technical details and market projections, what Straus's story really illustrates is the critical role that seemingly mundane but absolutely essential technologies play in enabling the innovations that capture public imagination. Nobody thinks about wet clean systems or electroplating equipment when they use ChatGPT or watch AI-generated videos, but those AI applications only exist because companies like ACM Research solved the hard manufacturing problems that make advanced chips possible at scale.
This is the nature of deep technology innovation, the breakthroughs that enable transformative applications often happen several layers removed from what end users see or care about. Panel-level packaging reducing waste by 50% and cutting costs by 30% won't make headlines, but it makes AI chip production economically viable at the scale required to support the applications that are reshaping entire industries. The horizontal electroplating system improving uniformity from 15% to 5% sounds like incremental improvement, but it translates to millions of dollars in improved yield for customers producing expensive advanced chips.
The semiconductor industry has always operated this way, with innovations in materials, processes, and equipment enabling each successive generation of chips that power new applications and markets. What's different about the current AI-driven boom is the sheer scale and speed of deployment, compressing development timelines that used to span five or ten years into two or three years while simultaneously demanding 10x or 100x increases in production volume. Meeting that challenge requires the entire semiconductor ecosystem, from equipment manufacturers to chipmakers to system integrators to work together with unprecedented coordination and execution.
For ACM Research and Jim Straus, the opportunity is clear, help chipmakers achieve the yield, efficiency, and capacity needed to meet AI demand while building long-term customer relationships that will sustain growth across multiple technology generations. The investment in Portland facilities demonstrates commitment to that long-term vision beyond just riding the current wave. The development of panel-level packaging technology shows strategic thinking about where the industry needs to go rather than just optimizing current processes.
As the semiconductor industry enters what many are calling a new golden age driven by AI and advanced packaging, the companies that will thrive are those that can innovate continuously, collaborate effectively with customers, and execute flawlessly at scale. Based on their track record and strategic positioning, ACM Research appears well-positioned to be among those winners, helping to build the manufacturing infrastructure that will power AI applications we can't even imagine yet. From wet clean to panel-level packaging, from incremental improvements to breakthrough innovations, it's all part of the same story, making the impossible possible through relentless focus on the fundamentals of semiconductor manufacturing.