Taiwan's Top Three PCB Makers Raise Over NT$100 Billion Combined to Bet on AI Data Centers
Alina Collins
Zhen Ding, Unimicron, and Compeq — Taiwan's top three PCB makers — have launched near-simultaneous fundraisings totaling over $2.7 billion, all directed at AI server capacity. The capital pivot signals that data centers, not smartphones, now drive the PCB industry's investment cycle.
Three giants move at once — where is the money going?
Unimicron priced a GDR — global depositary receipts, a tool for raising capital on overseas exchanges — at $27.1 per unit, issuing 50 million units for roughly $1.355 billion. Zhen Ding's subsidiary Avary Holding is raising up to RMB 9.6 billion (≈$1.4 billion) via a private A-share placement. Compeq is issuing new shares for about NT$8.61 billion (≈$268 million).
Combined, the three raises exceed $2.7 billion, all earmarked for AI data-center-related capacity.
This means → this is not one company making a solo bet; it is an industry-wide wager that AI is the next growth engine.
How will each company spend the money?
Unimicron: funds go to foreign-currency raw materials procurement and interest-cost reduction, while accelerating expansion of ABF substrates — a high-end circuit-board material essential for AI chip packaging — and advanced HDI capacity, targeting AI compute servers.
Zhen Ding: all proceeds flow into the Huai'an Avary campus to expand AI server and high-speed optical-module HDI capacity. Total project investment is RMB 12.73 billion; on completion, annual capacity rises by roughly 655,600 square meters.
Compeq: funds replenish working capital and repay bank debt. The company has already expanded land, facilities, and equipment, and is building new plants for optical-transmission and space-data-center products, with volume production expected in 2027–2028.
Why has the PCB industry suddenly become part of the AI story?
Surging AI server orders are replacing smartphones and PCs as the PCB supply chain's core demand driver.
In plain terms = a PCB is the "foundation" a chip sits on — no matter how powerful the chip, it must be soldered onto a circuit board to function. AI servers need more layers and higher precision than a phone board, so both unit prices and technical barriers jump sharply.
This reflects a capex pivot toward ABF substrates and advanced HDI — the two critical bottlenecks for AI server PCBs.
What are the risks in this expansion wave?
All three giants are betting in near-unison. Two things must hold: capacity must come online on schedule, and AI server orders must keep scaling.
This means → if AI demand growth slows or construction timelines slip, a collective expansion turns into collective overcapacity — the classic industry-cycle playbook.
Market sentiment runs high for now, but the real proof point arrives in 2027–2028, when new capacity ramps and order fulfillment becomes visible.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.