Futures
Access hundreds of perpetual contracts
CFD
Gold
One platform for global traditional assets
Options
Hot
Trade European-style vanilla options
Unified Account
Maximize your capital efficiency
Demo Trading
Introduction to Futures Trading
Learn the basics of futures trading
Futures Events
Join events to earn rewards
Demo Trading
Use virtual funds to practice risk-free trading
CFD
U.S. stock CFD derivatives
US Stocks
Access real US stocks and ETFs
HK Stocks
Trade quality Hong Kong-listed stocks
Stock Futures
High leverage, 24/7 trading
Tokenized Stocks
Backed by real stock assets
IPO Access
Unlock full access to global stock IPOs
GUSD
Mint GUSD for Treasury RWA yields
Stocks Activities
Trade Popular Stocks and Unlock Generous Airdrops
Launch
CandyDrop
Collect candies to earn airdrops
Launchpool
Quick staking, earn potential new tokens
HODLer Airdrop
Hold GT and get massive airdrops for free
IPO Access
Unlock full access to global stock IPOs
Alpha Points
Trade on-chain assets and earn airdrops
Futures Points
Earn futures points and claim airdrop rewards
Promotions
AI
Gate AI
Your all-in-one conversational AI partner
Gate AI Bot
Use Gate AI directly in your social App
GateClaw
Gate Blue Lobster, ready to go
Gate for AI Agent
AI infrastructure, Gate MCP, Skills, and CLI
Gate Skills Hub
10K+ Skills
From office tasks to trading, the all-in-one skill hub makes AI even more useful.
TSMC is building a PLP mass production system, which can significantly improve AI chip manufacturing efficiency
According to industry sources on the 15th, TSMC is building a materials, components, and equipment (MCE) supply chain to establish its PLP mass production system. Currently, TSMC is in discussions with domestic and international MCE companies regarding equipment investments. It is reported that TSMC plans to start PLP mass production as early as next year, which is seen as a substantial step toward this goal.
PLP is a technology that involves cutting finished circuit wafers into individual chips (dies) and then packaging them on rectangular panels to produce finished products. It contrasts with "Wafer-Level Packaging (WLP)" performed on circular wafers. When chips are packaged on circular wafers, the edge areas cannot be made into chips and must be discarded—this results in lower productivity. Packaging on rectangular panels allows for waste-free chip production. Based on a standard 600×600 mm rectangular panel, it can produce about five to six times the number of chips compared to the mainstream 300 mm (12-inch) wafers.
Currently, Samsung Electronics holds an advantage in PLP technology. After acquiring the PLP business from Samsung Electro-Mechanics in 2019, Samsung Electronics has continuously built its technical capabilities by applying this technology to mobile application processors (AP) and power management ICs (PMIC).
In contrast, TSMC had been relatively passive on PLP, relying on its traditional wafer-level packaging (WLP) to establish a competitive edge in the foundry industry. However, with the explosive growth of the AI chip market, the situation has reversed—PLP can increase AI chip output and facilitate the production of large-area AI chips. Therefore, TSMC has been actively promoting PLP business since 2024. It is expected that TSMC will build and operate a pilot production line this year, and after performance evaluation, it will enter large-scale mass production around next year.
Reportedly, TSMC has already secured a global AI chip customer.
As TSMC accelerates the mass production of PLP, competition with Samsung Electronics is expected to intensify further. Samsung also plans to expand the application scope of PLP from existing AP and PMIC to high-performance computing (HPC) chips, such as AI semiconductors. Additionally, glass substrates, which are highly regarded as AI chip substrates, are also likely to be used in this PLP process—this also indicates that Samsung Electronics and TSMC will compete for leadership in the next-generation substrate market.
An industry insider stated, "Not only Samsung Electronics and TSMC, but also many OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) companies worldwide are entering the PLP process market," and added, "Intense competition is expected, and the market will also grow."