AEM partners ASE Technology for AI, high-performance computing chip testing

[SINGAPORE] Semiconductor equipment maker AEM has partnered ASE Technology, one of the world’s largest semiconductor testing and packaging companies, to develop “disruptive test solutions” for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) markets. 

In a press release on Saturday (Mar 21), AEM said the collaboration will combine its proprietary test technologies with ASE’s manufacturing scale to serve these fast-growing markets. 

As part of the partnership, AEM will raise about S$12 million through a private placement of 3.35 million shares at S$3.591 apiece to a wholly owned subsidiary of ASE. This represents around 1.1 per cent of AEM’s issued share capital.

ASE, which is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange and Taiwan Stock Exchange, will also receive 28.1 million free detachable warrants in two tranches. Each tranche will be tied to revenue-related conditions and convertible into one share. 

The exercise price of the first tranche is set at 103 per cent of AEM’s volume-weighted average price (VWAP). In the second tranche, the exercise price will be 105 per cent of the VWAP. 

If fully exercised, AEM said the warrants would expand its current share capital by about 8.9 per cent. 

The proceeds from the placement will fund its Taiwan expansion, as well as support the integration of its test technologies into ASE’s manufacturing and test operations, AEM said. 

The group added that the funds will also go towards product development and “joint go-to-market initiatives” targeting AI and HPC applications. 

AEM said the “strategic partnership” will support ASE’s ISE Labs as well, as the unit expands its capabilities in early-stage testing and validation of AI and HPC chips.

This includes covering “heterogeneous integration architectures”, such as multi-chip and system-in-package designs, as well as optical connections used in next-generation computing. 

ASE’s assembly, testing and materials portfolio will strengthen these initiatives, enabling “production-scale deployment as global demand continues to accelerate”. 

AEM chief executive officer Samer Kabbani said the collaboration represents “an important step” in the group’s strategy to “work closely with industry leaders to advance the state of AI and HPC testing”. 

“ASE’s forward-looking approach and global scale make (this) an ideal partnership as test requirements continue to intensify across advanced compute platforms,” he noted.

The companies “aim to develop and deploy next-generation test solutions that help customers improve performance, scalability and time-to-market”, he added.

Ken Hsiang, CEO of ISE Labs, also said that such efforts are increasingly crucial as compute architectures grow more complex and time-to-production continues to compress.

Shares of AEM closed 8.5 per cent or S$0.32 higher at S$4.10 on Friday, before the news.