AUO Chairman Paul Peng

AUO Chairman Paul Peng declared at the company's 30th anniversary sports event that AUO will leverage three decades of accumulated glass processing expertise to enter the AI chip advanced packaging supply chain.

“Glass substrates are the consensus for next-generation advanced packaging, the question is who can bring them to market fastest”

Glass substrates for AI chips

The increasing size of AI chips has pushed traditional PCB substrates to their technical limits, making glass substrates the consensus choice for next-generation advanced packaging.

AUO's glass technology

AUO has already laid groundwork in through-glass via (TGV), metallization, and redistribution layer (RDL) technologies, which are expected to mature within 2-3 years and begin small-volume shipments.

AUO Crystal revenue shift

AUO's subsidiary AUO Crystal now derives all of its revenue from semiconductor operations, and the group aims to reduce pure panel revenue to 30% by 2030.

Major players validating glass substrates

Major players including Intel, Absolics, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and TSMC are also validating or pilot-producing glass substrates, with mass production timelines mostly falling between 2026 and 2030.

Micro LED automotive applications

AUO's Micro LED displays are highly attractive for automotive sunroofs and head-up displays, with transparent displays integrated into premium vehicle sunroofs.

Optical communications with Micro LED

Micro LED is one of the most promising technology options for optical communications, with mass production expected in 2-3 years.

Corning collaboration

AUO co-developed glass drilling technology with U.S. glass giant Corning, which has already been applied to low-earth-orbit satellite antennas.

AUO's role in supply chain

AUO will not complete entire IC packages but will focus on drilling, circuit patterning, and metallization on glass, working with existing semiconductor supply chain.

Intel's glass substrate progress

Intel unveiled glass substrates for next-generation advanced packaging in September 2023, investing over $1 billion in Arizona R&D.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics progress

Samsung Electro-Mechanics began prototype production at Sejong plant pilot line in Q2 2025, targeting mass production after 2027.

TSMC's co-packaged optics

TSMC completed pilot line for co-packaged optics in June 2026, with pilot production in 2027 and mass production in H2 2028.

Nippon Electric Glass challenges

Nippon Electric Glass faces low yields, long processing times, and high equipment investment challenges in glass substrate production.

AUO's transformation goals

AUO aims to reduce pure panel revenue to 30% by 2030, with 70% coming from new businesses including semiconductor operations.

Next year's economic outlook

Peng cautioned that industries using more memory, such as smartphones and it electronics, may face shortages as memory costs have risen several-fold.