Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is reportedly working with Taiwan-based substrate supplier Kinsus Interconnect Technology (3189) on a new advanced packaging approach similar to Intel’s EMIB, as the company responds to competitive pressure from Intel’s push into AI chip packaging.
Intel’s EMIB has drawn Apple and Google into its orbit
According to The Information, Intel’s Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge, or EMIB, uses tiny silicon bridge chips placed between processors and memory to create dense, high-speed interconnects. One of the main design advantages is that components can be arranged across layers rather than being forced onto a single plane.
That matters for AI processors, where designers are trying to combine more compute with high-bandwidth memory, or HBM. The report says both Apple and Google have incorporated EMIB into their AI chip planning. Google has gone further, spending months validating the technology and asking Intel to package more than 3 million custom AI processors by 2028.
Pressure is building around CoWoS capacity and design limits
TSMC’s main advanced packaging platform today is CoWoS, which places processors and AI memory on the same substrate. But as AI models keep growing, the report says the limits of that structure are becoming harder to ignore. Putting every component on the same layer increases design complexity and makes system integration more difficult.
TSMC Chief Executive Officer C.C. Wei said on this month’s shareholder conference call that the company’s current packaging capacity is extremely tight and cannot fully satisfy customer demand. The report says that gap has opened room for Intel to gain traction.
People familiar with the matter said TSMC engineers have started evaluating an “EMIB-like” design that would combine multiple graphics chips inside a single package.
Kinsus is said to be supplying a key substrate piece
Kinsus is described as playing a central part in the project. The report says the company is helping TSMC design and manufacture the packaging substrate that carries the silicon bridge and links the chiplet components above it. That substrate is presented as one of the most important parts of the overall EMIB-like architecture.
“The precision of the packaging substrate design and the choice of materials will directly determine signal transmission efficiency and overall thermal performance,” the report said. Kinsus’ involvement points to a local supply-chain partner taking on a direct role as TSMC looks for a path beyond CoWoS limits.
The move is framed as a defensive step
Viewed more broadly, the report says TSMC’s work on an EMIB-like technology is not only about catching up on a packaging method. Intel, long behind TSMC in process technology, is trying to use packaging as a point of differentiation and win more foundry orders.
The report adds that even if some customers temporarily shift work to Intel because of packaging requirements, a breakthrough by TSMC in EMIB-like packaging could help it reinforce ties with major clients such as Apple and Google and regain the initiative in long-term competition for AI chip orders.