SKC invests in Chipletz, a rising star of the U.S. chip packaging industry

•  Securing about 12% equity in Chipletz, a tech. firm spun off from AMD by joining its Series B funding as a strategic investor
•  Eyeing synergy with high-performance computing chip glass substrate business ··· accelerating the global expansion of back-end chip process business

September 11, 2023 -- SKC (President & CEO Woncheol Park) invests in Chipletz, a U.S. chip packaging startup. Chip packaging refers to the back-end process in which chips supporting different functions respectively such as CPU, DRAM, etc. are seamlessly connected with each other, and it is emerging as a key determinant of chipset performance. The Chipletz investment will allow SKC to further accelerate the global expansion of its chip back-end process business. 

SKC announced on the 10th that the Company would acquire about 12% stake in Chipletz in its Series B funding round. Exact equity ratio will be finalized when Chipletz’s Series B funding is closed. The two companies agreed not to disclose the amount of investment. After incorporating Absolics, a chip glass substrate manufacturer, in 2021 which is scheduled to dedicate its Phase 1 production facility by the end of this year, SKC rolls out full-scale partnership with a global tech. firm to access innovative chip packaging technology.

Chipletz was launched as a CIC (company in company) of AMD, U.S.-_ base_d global chip maker, in 2016 and spun off from the parent company 5 years after in 2021. Chipletz has a full package of architectural engineering and technology development know-how for cutting-edge semiconductor substrates as well as access to a network of big-name customers. AMD and Taiwan’s ASE, the world’s largest OSAT (outsourced semiconductor assembly and test) provider, already top the shareholders list of Chipletz, with stakes in the company.

Co-founder and CEO Bryan Black of Chipletz is a chip packaging expert who worked for Intel and AMS for more than 20 years. In particular, he is named as one of the most foremost authorities on next-gen. chip packaging technologies which are essential for AI computing such as ‘3D packaging’ that connects multiple heterogeneous chips in a 3D architecture. Other management leaders of Chipletz including CTO Michael Su, also one of the co-founders, and Vice President of Product Engineering Michael Alfano are also known for their long-standing careers in the chip packaging sector. 

Incorporating Absolics in 2021, SKC is endeavoring to roll out the world’s first commercial glass substrate for high-performance computing chips. Chips packaged with glass substrate are known to be the game changer of the market, as they can drastically improve data processing throughput of chipsets while cutting power consumption by half. SKC’s Phase 1 production facility under construction in Geogia, U.S.A. is coasting along without any setback toward the goal of completion by year-end. 

The investment will enable SKC to forge strong partnership with Chipletz in the field of chip packaging. SKC vows to combine its glass substrate production capacity with Chipletz’s engineering know-how, architectural and other relevant technologies, and access to a network of customers, etc. to build a differentiated ‘chip packaging solution ecosystem.’ Furthermore, the two companies will join forces in fostering R&D and responding to the U.S. CHIPS & Science (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science) Act of 2022.

As the fabrication approach to increasing capacity by narrowing linewidth has met its limit in the semiconductor industry, the packaging technology that combines multiple chips seamlessly to render higher performance is getting increasingly important. SKC, which is already expanding a suite of high-value components for front-end process such as CMP pad, blank mask, etc. via its investee SK enpulse, will significantly enhance its packaging business infrastructure for the future by investing in Chipletz next to the commercialization of chip glass substrates and the acquisition of ISC, a packaging test solutions provider.

“The strategic investment in Chipletz that has a global top-tier packaging architecture technology enhances our competitive edge for chip materials and components by a notch,” an official at SKC said. “A combination of SKC’ proprietary technologies and manufacturing capacity with Chipletz’s packaging engineering capability will be a game changer in the chip back-end process market.” [End]

Chipletz website: www.chipletz.com