Nvidia CEO: Changing Needs for Advanced Packaging Technology

Photo : Reuters

Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, said that the company's need for advanced packaging from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is still strong. However, the kind of technology Nvidia needs is changing. He made these comments on January 16 when asked if the company was cutting orders.

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Nvidia's newest and most powerful chip, called Blackwell, is made up of many small chips that are glued together. TSMC, Nvidia's main partner, uses a special process called chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) to do this. Huang explained that for the new Blackwell chips, Nvidia will use a new type of CoWoS called CoWoS-L. The older chips, known as Hopper, are made with a different type called CoWoS-S. Huang said that while Nvidia is still making Hopper chips, the company is slowly switching to CoWoS-L to help make Blackwell chips.

Even though there were reports in Taiwan saying Nvidia was reducing orders for CoWoS-S, Huang said it was not about reducing the number of chips being made. Instead, Nvidia is shifting to CoWoS-L, which is a newer and better technology. Huang explained that this change will help the company produce more of its Blackwell chips, which are in high demand.

Nvidia has been selling the Blackwell chips quickly, but packaging the chips has been a challenge because there wasn’t enough space to do it. However, Huang said the amount of space available for advanced packaging has increased a lot. He said it is now "probably four times" the amount available just two years ago.

Huang did not comment on new rules in the U.S. that limit where Nvidia can sell its chips. These new rules affect many countries, except for a few close U.S. allies like Taiwan.

Huang, who was born in Taiwan, is very popular there. He is expected to attend Nvidia’s annual party in Taipei later this week. This shift in how Nvidia is making chips will likely affect TSMC and other companies that help make these important chips for technology companies.