{
  "id": 17784515,
  "title": "Taiwanese UMC Secures Major Orders from Chinese Firms for AI Optical Chips",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/taiwanese-umc-secures-major-orders-from-chinese-firms-for-ai-optical",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-11-02T11:10:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BusinessKorea",
    "slug": "businesskorea",
    "url": "https://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=280256"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturing company UMC has reportedly secured significant orders from prominent Chinese firms, indicating a growing demand for advanced optical communication semiconductors. As the need for high-speed data transmission escalates in AI data centers, these semiconductors have become a key component in this emerging market. UMC has received orders for up to 10,000 wafers of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) from Zhongji Innolight and SILITH, a company partly owned by Tencent. PICs, which transmit data using light, are distinct from traditional semiconductors that process electrical signals. They are crucial in AI data centers where numerous servers need to communicate simultaneously, with transmission speeds currently expanding from 800Gbps to 1.6Tbps and potentially reaching 3.2Tbps in the future. This means data can be exchanged more rapidly in the same timeframe. The availability of such semiconductors is limited, with major producers Tower Semiconductor and GlobalFoundries currently operating at capacity. Zhongji Innolight, a supplier to major North American cloud companies, is expanding its business in high-speed optical modules. Meanwhile, SILITH is collaborating with UMC to develop next-generation optical communication technology, having already shipped over 8 million units of 100G and 200G class PICs. This partnership has already resulted in the first mass production of PICs at UMC's Singapore plant, with plans for further expansion in the coming years. Optical communication semiconductors command higher prices than standard semiconductors, estimated to be around seven times more expensive for high-performance wafers. UMC is also expanding its production facilities in Singapore and Taiwan to meet the growing demand for these specialized semiconductors.",
  "summary": "As the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers drives up demand for high-speed optical communications, the production of related semiconductors is also increasing. Taiwanese foundry company UMC has reportedly secured orders for up to 10,000 wafers of optical communication semiconducto",
  "key_points": [
    "UMC secures major orders from Zhongji Innolight and SILITH, Chinese firms.",
    "PICs, transmitting data via light, crucial for AI data centers.",
    "UMC expanding production in Singapore and Taiwan to meet demand."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}