Upgrading Manufacturing Competitiveness in the AI Era: Testing and Measurement Drive Yield and Mass Production

SEMI, the global semiconductor industry association, held its first “Semiconductor Testing and Measurement Industry Insights & Initiative Press Conference in the AI Era” on August 12. A survey covering companies across the semiconductor value chain—including IC design, wafer manufacturing, testing services, and inspection and measurement equipment—revealed strong industry consensus on three key priorities: dedicated government policies, university programs aligned with testing talent needs, and shared access to advanced testing equipment.

The industry is calling for the government to incorporate testing and measurement into Taiwan's strategic semiconductor development plans and work with the industry to capture new opportunities driven by AI.

SEMI Taiwan President Seth Su said that Taiwan has established a leading position in advanced process technologies and advanced packaging, while testing and measurement have become critical factors in determining yield, cost, and mass-production efficiency. (Photo by Huang Jen-Chieh, Reporter)

Global Test Equipment Sales Expected to Grow 31% in 2026

The growing importance of testing and measurement is reflected in the market’s strong growth trajectory. SEMI forecasts that global semiconductor equipment sales will increase from US$135 billion in 2025 to nearly US$230 billion by 2028.

Among the various equipment segments, test equipment is expected to see particularly strong growth. Global test equipment sales are projected to rise 31% in 2026 to US$15.3 billion, and are expected to reach US$20.8 billion by 2028.

Taiwan's testing and measurement industry is also experiencing strong momentum. According to Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs, the industry generated NT$193.6 billion in output last year, reaching a record high. Output during the first five months of 2026 increased 32.8% year over year.

The growth is primarily driven by advanced logic chips, HBM, and high-performance computing (HPC), which are increasing testing requirements and boosting demand for memory testing, system-level testing (SLT), burn-in testing, and reliability screening.

From Manufacturing Strength to Global Standards Participation

Taiwan's highly integrated semiconductor ecosystem provides testing and measurement companies with significant advantages in supply-chain collaboration, mass-production efficiency, and rapid response capabilities.

According to the SEMI survey, industry participants highlighted Taiwan’s competitiveness compared with the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and Europe in several areas, including:

• Close integration with foundries and OSAT companies: 96.4%

• Mass-production testing efficiency and cost control: 71.4%

• Rapid customization and delivery flexibility: 67.9%

  
  

These strengths have established Taiwan as a world-class semiconductor ecosystem characterized by speed, integration, and reliability.

However, as AI creates a new wave of growth opportunities, the industry believes Taiwan must move beyond its existing manufacturing strengths and play a greater role in shaping global technology standards.

SEMI Global Chief Marketing Officer and SEMI Taiwan President Seth Su noted that Taiwan already holds a leading position in advanced processes and advanced packaging. Testing and measurement have now become critical factors determining yield, cost, and mass-production efficiency.

With its world-class supply-chain integration and manufacturing capabilities, Taiwan now needs closer collaboration between industry and government to further strengthen these advantages and enhance Taiwan’s visibility on the global stage.

Testing and Measurement Move Upstream

AI has emerged as a major growth driver for the testing and measurement industry. According to the SEMI survey, more than 90% of respondents expect AI-related testing and measurement businesses to continue growing over the next three years.

As AI chips demand increasingly higher performance, requirements for measurement accuracy and testing speed are also rising significantly. Testing is therefore expanding beyond traditional back-end quality control and moving further upstream into R&D and design.

Around half of the respondents believe testing should be incorporated earlier into Design for Testability (DFT) and Design for Manufacturability (DFM) processes.

In terms of technology investment, the industry has identified two major priorities: advanced packaging testing, including CoWoS and SoIC, and optoelectronic measurement technologies such as silicon photonics.

Tseng Yi-Shih, CEO and General Manager of Chroma ATE and Chairman of SEMI's Inspection and Metrology Committee, emphasized the importance of measurement and validation in bringing advanced technologies into mass production. Without measurement, there can be no verification; without verification, even the most advanced technologies cannot successfully transition to mass production.

Talent Shortages Become a Major Industry Challenge

Talent shortages emerged as one of the most urgent issues identified by the SEMI survey. All participating companies reported some degree of talent shortage, while more than 60% ranked talent as the top priority among the industry's four major challenges.

The three most difficult types of talent to recruit are:

1. Optical measurement specialists

2. Cross-disciplinary system integration engineers

3. Advanced packaging and testing specialists

   
   

A common characteristic among these positions is the need for cross-disciplinary expertise, which remains a major gap in the current university education system.

Chang Kao-Hsun, General Manager of KYEC, pointed out that testing was once regarded as a supporting function within the semiconductor supply chain. Today, however, it has become an indispensable part of the entire manufacturing process.

With the growing adoption of advanced packaging and high-value AI chips, testing is no longer simply about identifying defective chips. It is increasingly about identifying and validating high-value, high-performance chips. Since individual AI chips can be worth tens of thousands of U.S. dollars, advanced testing capabilities can directly impact overall yield and supply-chain competitiveness.

Three Key Policy Priorities

Based on the survey results, the industry has reached a consensus on three major policy recommendations:

1. Establish dedicated testing and measurement policies. The industry calls for the government to establish testing and measurement as an independent policy priority, with dedicated resources to support technology development and equipment upgrades.

2. Strengthen testing and measurement talent development Universities are encouraged to reform relevant curricula and establish dedicated testing and measurement programs to systematically develop the cross-disciplinary talent required by the industry.

3. Establish shared advanced testing equipment platforms. The industry recommends creating shared advanced testing equipment platforms to lower investment barriers, accelerate technology adoption, and improve overall industry competitiveness.

SEMICON Taiwan 2026 to Highlight Next-Generation Testing Technologies

At SEMICON Taiwan 2026, scheduled to take place in September, the testing-focused exhibition area will center on precision testing and yield validation.

Key areas will include:

• AI chip testing

• System-level packaging

• Analog and mixed-signal IC testing

• Memory testing

• Advanced measurement technologies

  
  

The exhibition will bring together companies across both the measurement equipment and semiconductor testing service sectors.

At the same time, SEMICON Taiwan 2026 will feature several major forums, including the Silicon Photonics International Forum, 3DIC Global Summit, and Heterogeneous Integration Global Summit, focusing on key technologies that will support the next generation of AI infrastructure.

Key Takeaway

The rapid expansion of AI is reshaping semiconductor manufacturing, and testing and measurement are moving from a traditional back-end quality-control function to a strategic capability spanning design, R&D, advanced packaging, and mass production.

For Taiwan, maintaining its semiconductor leadership will increasingly depend not only on advanced process and packaging technologies, but also on its ability to strengthen precision testing, measurement, validation, talent development, and industry-wide infrastructure.

Source of Information: TechNice