The structural tightness in AI chip packaging supply chains is fostering new technological partnerships. As Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's CoWoS packaging capacity remains critically constrained, South Korean memory giant SK Hynix has reportedly turned to Intel. The two companies are engaged in research and development collaboration centered on Intel's Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB) technology. SK Hynix is evaluating the feasibility of using EMIB to interconnect High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) with logic dies and has initiated studies on the supply of raw materials required for EMIB mass production. Concurrently, Google has also been reported to be considering adopting EMIB for its next-generation TPU AI chips, further indicating the technology is garnering broad industry attention. Since the AI race accelerated in late 2022, the packaging capacity bottleneck has persistently failed to see fundamental relief. Despite major manufacturers expanding capacity and advancing new technologies, supply tightness continues. Against this backdrop, the collaboration between SK Hynix and Intel reflects a broader trend where IC design firms and memory suppliers are actively seeking alternative solutions following Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's capacity constraints. CoWoS Bottleneck Drives Industry to Seek Alternatives Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's CoWoS (chip-on-wafer-on-substrate) technology is the current mainstream solution for 2.5D packaging of AI chips, but its persistent capacity bottleneck has become a core pain point constraining the AI chip supply chain. Packaging was one of the earliest supply shortfalls in the AI competition and has remained fundamentally unresolved since late 2022. In this context, Intel's EMIB technology is gradually gaining industry attention. EMIB falls within the category of 2.5D packaging technology, connecting the main chip die to the package substrate via an interposer, which then connects to the circuit board. This technical approach highly overlaps with CoWoS in functional positioning, providing a viable option for manufacturers seeking alternatives. Packaging Yield is a Key Variable for Commercialization Although the collaboration prospects are notable, whether EMIB technology can achieve large-scale commercialization still hinges on packaging yield as a core uncertainty. Prominent tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a warning: the 90% EMIB-T yield rate announced by Intel is verification data and does not represent actual mass production yield levels. Kuo points out that mass production yield will play a decisive role in Google's process of deciding whether to use EMIB for its next-generation TPU AI chips. This assessment similarly applies to SK Hynix's evaluation process—if mass production yield cannot reach an economically viable level, the large-scale adoption of EMIB will face substantial obstacles. For Intel, the ability to translate yield advantages from the verification stage into stable mass production capability will directly determine whether it can achieve a breakthrough in the AI packaging supply chain. Intel Actively Markets EMIB, Seeking New Position in Packaging Market Intel is actively promoting its EMIB technology in the market. In the latest quarterly earnings call, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger emphasized the differentiated advantages of Intel's business model, highlighting the company's ability to rapidly integrate customer feedback into its production processes. He stated, "We are not just focused on CPUs; we have advanced packaging and foundry capabilities that allow us to drive change more efficiently and serve customers' diverse workload needs with greater speed." According to reports citing informed sources, Intel's aggressive marketing strategy for EMIB, combined with the current supply-demand dynamics in the AI packaging market, is expected to promote the technology as a significant component of the AI packaging supply chain. The successive interest shown by Google and SK Hynix in EMIB marks substantial progress in Intel's market penetration within the advanced packaging sector and opens a new revenue stream for the chip giant, which is in a period of strategic transformation.
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