Suppliers across East Asia are rushing to develop a new chip-packaging material to meet a technical request from Nvidia for advanced AI accelerators. Substrate manufacturers in South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan must complete glass substrate development within two years for use before 2028, according to Korean media reports. The shift from organic ABF boards aims to reduce warpage and increase yields as chip packages expand in size and thermal output.

Glass substrates allow for tighter wiring and maintain a flatter profile than plastic plates, which are currently hitting physical limits in advanced packaging. A 2 year timeline is typically insufficient to produce a fully qualified part, creating a competitive race between the established organic board stack in Taiwan and emerging glass production lines in Japan and South Korea.