In response to the near-frenzied global demand for AI computing power, AMD today (May 21) announced a major investment that will shake the industry: it will invest more than US$10 billion (approximately NT$320 billion) in the Taiwanese industrial system to expand strategic partnerships and comprehensively upgrade the advanced packaging capacity of next-generation AI infrastructure.
This massive investment will not only drive groundbreaking 2.5D EFB and panel-level packaging technologies, but also heralds the massive deployment of the new Helios rack-mount platform, powered by the 6th generation EPYC "Venice" processor and MI450X GPU, which is expected to begin in the second half of 2026 at a scale of up to several gigawatts.
Breaking through CoWoS production capacity bottlenecks: Advancing EFB and advanced panel-level packaging
As the transistor count and bandwidth requirements of AI chips continue to push physical limits, advanced packaging technology has become a crucial battleground for major manufacturers. A significant portion of AMD's recent $100 billion investment will be precisely targeted at Taiwan's packaging and testing and substrate supply chain.
• Mass production of 2.5D EFB technology:AMD is working closely with local partners such as ASE and SPIL to develop and validate next-generation wafer-based 2.5D EFB bridging interconnect technology. This architecture significantly improves interconnect bandwidth and power efficiency between chiplets, becoming the driving force behind the powerful performance of the EPYC "Venice" processor.
• Leading innovation in panel-level packaging:In search of more economical packaging solutions, AMD announced a major milestone with Powertech Technology (PTI), successfully validating the industry's first "2.5D panel-level EFB interconnect technology." This signifies that advanced packaging is expected to break through the limitations of traditional wafer size, enabling lower-cost, larger-scale, high-bandwidth interconnects.
• The national team provides full support for carrier boards:Taiwan's three major substrate manufacturers, including Unimicron, Nan Ya PCB, and Kinsus, will fully support AMD's expansion in the advanced packaging field with high-quality advanced substrate solutions.
AMD Helios Platform Debuts: An AI Behemoth Assembled by Taiwanese Foundries
With the support of advanced manufacturing processes and packaging, AMD also officially defined its ultimate weapon for next-generation AI systems at the conference – the AMD Helios rack-scale platform.
• Top-tier hardware configuration:The Helios platform will be equipped with devices manufactured using TSMC's 2nm process.6th generation AMD EPYC "Venice" CPUIt also includes the future super AI chip Instinct MI450X GPU, and integrates advanced networking solutions with the ROCm development software environment.
• Taiwanese ODM giants lend their support:To ensure the Helios platform can smoothly transition from design to global hyperscalers, AMD has formed close alliances with major system foundries such as Wiwynn, Wistron, Inventec, and Sanmina, as well as AIC, which is responsible for server architecture and compute tray design, in preparation for mass production deployment in the second half of 2026.
Analysis: Using a "rack-level" strategy and billions of dollars in funding to solidify the anti-NVIDIA alliance
AMD CEO Lisa Su's $100 billion investment in Taiwan has a very clear strategic intent: to secure production capacity, reduce costs, and directly confront NVIDIA at the "system level."
First, AMD responded strongly to AI infrastructure like NVIDIA NVL72, which is implemented as a "whole rack". AMD knows that to sell more AI GPUs, it cannot rely on a single chip. It must work with Taiwanese server ODM manufacturers (such as Wistron and Inventec) to create plug-and-play complete cooling and system solutions.
Secondly, this investment precisely addresses the biggest demand for AI chips right now – "advanced packaging capacity." By supporting Powertech's "panel-grade EFB technology" and deepening cooperation with ASE, SPIL, and substrate manufacturers, AMD is actively seeking filing and capacity expansion channels beyond CoWoS. Taiwan boasts the world's most complete vertically integrated supply chain of "wafer manufacturing → advanced packaging and testing → system assembly." AMD's heavy investment in Taiwan is essentially buying the most secure logistical insurance for the AI war in the coming years.
