Taipei: Taiwan is expanding semiconductor research infrastructure and developing homegrown chip-design software under a government initiative aimed at maintaining the country's technological edge, the Cabinet said Thursday. Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee announced after a Cabinet meeting that the government plans to invest NT$300 billion (US$9.51 billion) through 2033 in areas including next-generation chip design and advanced semiconductor processes.
According to Focus Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai emphasized the importance of continuing to invest in advanced technology research and development and cultivating high-level talent to consolidate Taiwan's advantages in the chip industry. Peter Hong, head of the National Science and Technology Council's Department of Engineering and Technologies, detailed two projects under the Taiwan Chip-based Industrial Innovation Program, which are set to run from 2024 to 2028. These projects will focus on research infrastructure and chip-design software, with seven university semiconductor institutes receiving subsidies for equipment linked through a single service platform.
Furthermore, two research institutes under the National Institutes of Applied Research plan to establish an atomic-scale process verification line for sub-1-nanometer processes. This initiative comes as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is set to begin high-volume production using its 2-nanometer process in the fourth quarter of 2025. The government-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) will also build an advanced semiconductor pilot line for startups and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that require low-volume, high-mix trial production.
On the software front, the government aims to strengthen Taiwan's capacity to develop electronic design automation (EDA) tools used in chip design, layout, and verification. Traditionally controlled by a few major international companies, EDA tools for areas like advanced packaging are underdeveloped, representing a significant opportunity for Taiwan. Universities will focus on developing key EDA tools for advanced packaging, while ITRI plans to create an intelligent EDA cloud platform, integrating tools developed by industry and research institutions into a comprehensive chip-design toolchain.
In a separate initiative, the Cabinet outlined a support plan for SMEs and microenterprises, which make up 98.9 percent of businesses in Taiwan and nearly 80 percent of employment. GJ Lee, head of the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Small and Medium Enterprise and Startup Administration, stated that the government aims for technological advances in the high-tech and manufacturing sectors to benefit smaller businesses across industries. The goal is to help at least 1 million SMEs and microenterprises adopt digital technologies and artificial intelligence, with annual funding expected to reach nearly NT$25 billion starting next year.