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Over 30 Taiwanese tech industry heavyweights are in the new Silicon Photonics Industry Alliance (SiPhIA), demonstrating that this branch of semiconductor development is now getting serious attention. Leading semiconductor firms like TSMC, ASE, Foxconn, and MediaTek are among the SiPhIA collective, which sees photonics as a solution to the thorny issue of computer energy efficiency in the artificial intelligence (AI) era.

TSMC aims to ready next-gen silicon photonics for AI in 5 years

Silicon photonics is seen in the industry as a key technology for enabling a wide range of applications, including AI, data communication, 6G and quantum computing. Optical transmission is more energy efficient and has lower latency than conventional data transmission technology, characteristics that can help tackle the growing thermal and energy consumption issues with AI data centers.

Building an ecosystem for the technology, he said, will require participation from companies across the supply chain, from upstream players like design software suppliers Synopsys and Cadence Design Systems and chip developers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, all the way to downstream companies like AI server makers Foxconn and Quanta Computer.

More than 30 suppliers, including TSMC,Foxconn and Quanta Computer, as well as the world's biggest chip packaging and testing supplier ASE Technology Holding and leading connector provider Bizlink, are members of the new industry alliance.