(Central News Agency reporter Jiang Mingyan Taipei 29th) The Taiwan Printed Circuit Board Association (TPCA) pointed out that the global High-Density Interconnect (HDI) industry has shown strong growth momentum. It is estimated that the global HDI output value will reach 14.34 billion U.S. dollars in 2025, with an annual growth rate of 8.7%, setting a new historical high. Taiwanese manufacturers account for 38.7% of the market share, ranking first in the world, while the Chinese mainland accounts for 32.9%.  

The Taiwan Printed Circuit Board Association (TPCA) issued a press release today stating that as the focus of AI technology applications gradually extends from cloud computing to edge computing, the penetration rate of AI mobile phones and AI PCs is rapidly increasing, driving a moderate growth in mobile phones and PCs. Coupled with the explosive demand for AI servers and low-orbit satellite communications, benefiting from product design and cost-effectiveness, HDI is expanding into new application markets.  

Looking back at 2024, TPCA said that the output value of the HDI industry reached 13.19 billion U.S. dollars, with an annual growth rate of 9.8%. Mobile phones remained the largest application market (accounting for 27.7%), followed by automotive electronics (14.5%) and laptops/tablets (10.6%). It is estimated that the shipment volume of AI mobile phones will reach 410 million units in 2025, an annual increase of 73%, and AI PCs will reach 110 million units, an annual increase of 165%. The high-performance demand has pushed up the number of layers in mainboards, driving the increase in the usage ratio of 8 to 12-layer HDI products.  

TPCA estimates that the shipment volume of AI servers will reach 1.98 million units in 2025, with an annual growth rate of 15.1%. The OAM modules in AI servers commonly use HDI with more than 18 layers, which need to be matched with materials of Very Low Loss or higher grades, and the products have high added value. However, it is necessary to pay attention to the material upgrade of next-generation B300/GB300 servers, which is expected to increase costs by 50% to 70%, and promote the impact of cost optimization strategies such as introducing HLC in the configuration of core PCB components of NVIDIA server modules.  

In terms of the automotive market, TPCA said that electric vehicles and self-driving technologies have driven the demand for ADAS modules. 4 to 8-layer HDI is widely used in vehicle cameras and millimeter-wave radars, and 10-layer以上 HDI has been introduced into integrated ECU modules. The global automobile shipment volume is expected to grow by 2.1% in 2025, of which electric vehicles will increase by 11.6% annually, further driving the growth of automotive HDI.  

At the same time, TPCA pointed out that low-orbit satellite communications, as an extended application of 5G/6G, continue to see rising demand. Operators such as SpaceX and Amazon are expected to accelerate deployment in 2025, and about 70,000 new satellites will be added in the next five years, further boosting the demand for high-end HDI markets.  

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TPCA pointed out that the global HDI market is dominated by Taiwanese and Chinese mainland manufacturers. Calculated by the source of funds of the parent company, Taiwanese manufacturers account for 38.7% of the market share, firmly ranking first in the world, and the Chinese mainland accounts for 32.9%. In terms of individual enterprises, Compeq of Taiwan ranks first in the world with a market share of 10.7% and is the world’s largest PCB supplier for satellite communications. Other leading manufacturers include AT&S (7.8%), TTM (7.4%), Unimicron (6.6%), and CUC (5.7%), as well as mainland-funded enterprises such as Shenzhen Kinwong, Shenzhen Deep South, and Shenzhen Kingwong that are among the top ten.  

TPCA pointed out that the diversion of supply chains between the United States and China has become a trend. It is expected that American customers may require strengthened “origin review” and “raw material traceability”. Global major HDI manufacturers, at the request of customers, have launched layouts of OOC (out of China) / OOT (out of Taiwan). Thailand and Vietnam have become the focus of Taiwanese manufacturers’ layouts, among which Thailand has become the region with the fastest growth in new HDI and HLC production capacity.