Intel's Big Expansion of EMIB Packaging, Supply Chain Suggests Mass Production for Next Year

According to a report on Korean Electronics News on the 28th, Intel is placing a massive procurement order for materials, components, and equipment to global supply chain partners, with multiple supply contracts already signed, including involvement from some local South Korean suppliers.

Industry insiders revealed that the investment scale for this advanced packaging equipment reaches tens of billions of dollars. Considering the delivery cycle of equipment and the timeline for material supply, mass production is expected to be realized as early as next year. Some partners have already begun discussions on equipment investment for 2028. The investment locations are primarily concentrated in the United States and major packaging production bases such as Vietnam and Malaysia.

The core focus of this investment is on the expansion of Intel's unique EMIB (Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge) technology capacity. EMIB is Intel's proprietary 2.5D packaging technology that achieves high-speed interconnectivity between different chips through embedded silicon bridges in the substrate. Compared to TSMC's silicon interposer solution, it has certain advantages in terms of cost and production efficiency, while also supporting bridge connections only where necessary, resulting in higher packaging precision.

Currently, Intel is advancing further upgrades to EMIB, including the EMIB-T version that introduces through-silicon via (TSV) technology, as well as the next-generation packaging solution integrating glass substrates, aiming to diversify technological routes and expand customer reach.

The strategic intent of this packaging investment is very clear—to break through the growth bottleneck of foundry business with advanced back-end engineering.

Since Intel announced its return to the foundry market in 2021, it has continued to invest in advanced front-end processes, but the progress in recruiting large customers has been slower than expected, with TSMC's absolute dominance in AI chip foundry being the main obstacle.

Now, Intel is turning to advanced packaging as a differentiating competitive tool, attempting to bypass the limits of front-end process miniaturization and accelerate the foundry business with back-end engineering capabilities. In the meantime, Intel has officially begun mass production of the Intel 18A process, which is equivalent to the 2-nanometer level, with front and back-end coordinated progress to achieve the greatest synergy.

Another industry source stated: "The scale of this packaging investment itself has, to some extent, confirmed that Intel has preliminarily locked in some advanced foundry process customers. The dual-line expansion of the 18A process and advanced packaging is expected to be the starting gun for the comprehensive revival of Intel's foundry business."