Ajinomoto, the dominant supplier of ABF film used in advanced IC substrates, has told customers it will shift to differentiated allocation because of raw material shortages, prioritizing AI and other high-end applications. A channel survey cited by Meritz Securities said the company’s ABF film lines are expected to be fully loaded through the second quarter of 2026, with little near-term relief from new capacity. The move matters because ABF film is a key insulating layer in FC-BGA packaging for CPUs, GPUs and AI accelerators. While it accounts for only a small part of substrate cost, supply disruptions can halt production lines. The report said Ajinomoto has maintained more than 95% global market share in the segment. The supply squeeze is already showing up in lead times and pricing. Lead times have stretched from three to four months at the start of the year to more than 12 months, and some customers are already discussing 2029 capacity. The article pointed to rising demand from larger AI chips, including NVIDIA’s next-generation Rubin GPU, and expanding CoWoS packaging capacity at TSMC. According to the report, Taiwan’s Unimicron, Nan Ya PCB and Kinsus could benefit first because they already have high-end production scale, yield performance and customer qualifications. At the same time, non-AI customers are likely to face reduced allocation, longer waits and higher costs, while glass substrates are not expected to become a volume replacement before 2027.

Ajinomoto, best known as a Japanese food company, said its electronic materials business delivered outsized profit in the latest quarter, driven by ABF, or Ajinomoto Build-up Film, a key insulating layer used in IC substrates for advanced processors. The company said the segment generated JPY 33.1 billion in revenue and JPY 19.1 billion in business profit, implying a 57.7% margin. While the unit accounted for about 8% of group revenue, it contributed 32% of profit. According to the company, ABF holds more than 95% of the global market for insulating films used in high-performance semiconductors. The material is used in substrates for high-end CPUs and GPUs, and demand has benefited from larger AI accelerator packages, more substrate layers, tighter line widths, and stricter thermal expansion requirements. Ajinomoto said growth came from an improved product mix rather than price increases. The report also outlined competitive and technological pressure, including efforts by Sekisui Chemical, U.S. startup Thintronics, and longer-term interest in glass substrates. In response, Ajinomoto is expanding capacity in Japan, with investment already underway in Gunma and Kawasaki and more spending planned through 2030.

PANews on Aug. 5 published its Top 10 ranking of column articles for July 2026, a list compiled from overall content quality and readership across all columns on the platform. The outlet framed July as a month of structural adjustment across macro, technology, and crypto markets: AI narratives entered a valuation reset phase, storage stocks pulled back, Bitcoin ended the month at about $62,900 with a 7.3% gain, while spot trading activity weakened and on-chain trading share climbed. Against that backdrop, AI and robotics dominated reader attention, accounting for seven of the 10 most popular articles. The top five entries came from animajoe, Think AI, MSX Research Institute, Tiger Research, and EX.IO. Topics ranged from AI hardware supply chains and humanoid robots to storage-sector valuations, AI agent wallets, and whether an AI bubble could mirror the 2000 dot-com collapse. The remaining ranked pieces covered stablecoin business models, second-half AI allocations, Bitcoin mining under U.S. grid stress, volatility in South Korean equities, and bottlenecks shaping the next leg of AI speculation. PANews also used the ranking announcement to invite more writers to open columns on its platform.

在 AI 需求爆发背景下，东陶（TOTO）凭借半导体精密陶瓷业务实现股价大涨，尽管其传统卫浴业务仍是基本盘，但半导体陶瓷贡献了大部分利润。类似情况也发生在 Nittobo（日本硝子）和味之素（Ajinomoto）等公司，它们在 AI 供应链中占据关键位置。A 股市场同样经历着国产替代和供需缺口带来的增长机会，投资者可关注这些“隐秘”的 AI 赢家。