{
  "id": 7922025,
  "title": "How AEM built its next growth engine before the market demanded it",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/how-aem-built-its-next-growth-engine-before-the-market-demanded-it",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-17T01:23:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Channel News Asia",
    "slug": "channel-news-asia",
    "url": "https://www.channelnewsasia.com/brand-studio/how-aem-built-its-next-growth-engine-market-demanded-it-6377681"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Before the market demanded it, AEM Holdings invested in advanced semiconductor test technologies, expertise, and customer relationships. Years of collaboration with a major customer gave AEM deep expertise in semiconductor testing, but also raised the question of whether those capabilities could create opportunities beyond the single customer. CEO Samer Kabbani stated, \"The shift towards diversification was not a reaction to a single crisis. It came from asking a harder question: Given the technology we'd built, could we climb up the product value chain and deliver solutions that address the needs of multiple market segments simultaneously?\"\n\nTo diversify, AEM rethought its approach to serving customers and product development. Instead of bespoke solutions, AEM began creating semi-custom platforms adaptable for multiple customers while remaining differentiated. This required significant R&D investment before any certainty of new customers. Kabbani explained, \"Acting on that conviction meant committing the investment and energy to transform the company.\" AEM also shifted its customer engagement, collaborating with customers from the beginning to co-design solutions and challenge requirements for more efficient designs. This approach is integral to their razor-and-blade model, where customers invest in the core testing platform and later customize it as needed.\n\nAs AI chips became more powerful and complex, testing became crucial. AEM's capabilities in high-parallel, high-efficiency testing have become increasingly valuable. Intel's Epic Award and partnership with ASE have bolstered AEM's reputation and expanded access to new customer segments. By continuously investing in innovation, AEM has positioned itself as a key player in AI chip development, working closely with customers throughout the design process.",
  "summary": "Long before AI accelerated demand for advanced chips, the semiconductor test specialist was investing in the technologies, expertise and customer relationships it believed would shape its next chapter.",
  "key_points": [
    "AEM invested in advanced semiconductor test technologies before market demand.",
    "CEO Samer Kabbani questioned diversification, not crisis-driven.",
    "Collaboration with major customer deepened AEM's semiconductor testing expertise."
  ],
  "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."
}