Singapore semiconductor industry commits over S$500m to R&D as global chip race intensifies

Singapore's semiconductor industry has pledged over S$500 million for research and development projects over the next five years, exceeding the previous investments made from 2020 to 2025, according to A*STAR. The move aims to bolster the country's position in advanced chip technologies and enable local firms to compete in the lucrative industry.

Professor Yeo Yee Chia, A*STAR's deputy chief executive for innovation and enterprise, highlights Singapore's well-organized and coordinated ecosystem as a key factor in its success.

As AI adoption accelerates, chipmakers face new challenges in creating faster and more efficient processors. The industry's traditional approach of packing more transistors onto a chip, known as Moore's Law, is becoming increasingly difficult due to the limits of current manufacturing processes. Singapore has been investing in alternative technologies like advanced packaging, heterogeneous integration, and photonics, which could provide more efficient ways to process data.

Professor Yeo notes that the next frontier in chipmaking could involve areas such as advanced packaging, heterogeneous integration, chiplets, photonics, and power-efficient chips for data centers. These technologies could enable more components to be packed closely together, reducing data transfer distances and energy consumption. Singapore's semiconductor ecosystem is expected to benefit from the influx of overseas companies seeking to collaborate with local partners.

While infrastructure and talent are crucial assets for Singapore's semiconductor sector, the challenge lies in finding enough customers to sustain the development of specialized technologies. Companies like MetaOptics and NexGen Wafer Systems have benefited from access to A*STAR's infrastructure and talent pool. However, finding customers for niche technologies remains a hurdle for many small- and medium-sized enterprises in the industry.