Taiwan and Europe Forge Strategic Semiconductor and HPC Partnership

According to a recent report published by The Icons, Taiwan and Europe are forging deeper ties in the semiconductor and high-performance computing industries, driven by a shared commitment to technological innovation and talent development. A delegation from Taiwan's National Applied Research Laboratories, led by Dr. Mei-Yu Chang, attended the Semi Impact Forum 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, highlighting the growing collaboration between the regions in the face of global technological transformation.

Professor Konrad Young, Director of Arculus Lab and former Director of Research and Development at TSMC, addressed the forum, offering insights into Taiwan's semiconductor success and emphasizing the complementary strengths between Taiwan and Europe. Young stated that Taiwan excels in semiconductor manufacturing and design while Europe has strong capabilities in equipment and fundamental research, creating a strategic opportunity for both regions to strengthen their positions in the global market. This partnership represents a significant shift in how technological advancement is approached globally.

Professor Rui Carlos Oliveira, Director of INESC TEC in Portugal, underscored the importance of distributed architectures and cross-border cooperation in AI and HPC. Oliveira remarked that Taiwan's leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and Portugal's growing strength in AI and HPC create a natural synergy that can drive technological advancement. The collaboration between NARLabs and INESC TEC, which dates back to 2017, has expanded from high-performance computing and marine technology to artificial intelligence, demonstrating the evolving nature of this strategic partnership.

Both Young and Oliveira highlighted the critical importance of fostering talent with a global outlook, stressing that interdisciplinary education and industry-academia collaboration are key to maintaining a competitive edge in the evolving technological landscape. They concluded that technological competition today is no longer about rivalry between individual nations but about global cooperation, underscoring a shared vision of advancing semiconductor and HPC capabilities through strategic Taiwan-Europe partnerships. This strengthening of cooperation signals a new era of technological innovation and global collaboration, positioning both regions at the forefront of the next wave of semiconductor and AI development.