Singapore chip gear maker GVT says AI boom far from over

Singapore - Semiconductor equipment maker Grand Venture Technology (GVT) is trying to turn the world’s hunger for advanced memory chips into a chance to become a major supplier, as giants from Micron Technology to Infineon Technologies build new factories in Asia.

Demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips is set to grow in the coming years as healthcare, education and financial sectors adopt more services from AI agents such as Microsoft Copilot, said Mr Julian Ng, chief executive of Singapore-based GVT.

That is a boon for up-and-coming equipment suppliers such as GVT, as chipmakers need to invest in their production systems.

“We are riding on the AI wave,” Mr Ng said in an interview. Those saying AI is a bubble are wrong because many industries have yet to adopt the technology, he added.

While still a niche player in the chip ecosystem, GVT has tripled its annual revenue – and stock price – since its 2019 stock market debut in Singapore. It has benefited from the industry’s growth in Asia, selling chipmaking tools for factories from Malaysia to China.

Asia will remain the primary location for the global chip supply chain despite efforts from the US and Europe to build chip plants on their home turf, according to Mr Ng.

“Moving back will not be that straightforward, because you will need years of qualification and understanding where your ecosystem is,” he said.

GVT develops technologies such as hybrid bonding so more layers of chips can be stacked in a single package, improving the efficiency of the product. The technology is key in the production of sophisticated semiconductors, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips.

HBM chips are widely used in AI computing to offer faster data access speed with lower energy consumption.

An array of chipmakers are ramping up chip output in South-east Asia.

Last week, Micron announced a US$7 billion (S$9.6 billion) plan to make HBM chips in Singapore. Germany’s Infineon is building a new plant in Thailand for power modules after starting to make data centre chips in its US$7.2 billion plant in Malaysia in 2024.

However, US President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff policies cast uncertainties on the industry.

Weak consumer demand and an economic slowdown in China could also affect the capital expenditures of the biggest chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics and Intel, Citigroup analysts Atif Malik and Elizabeth Sun warned last week.

GVT is looking to add a second stock listing in Kuala Lumpur to diversify its investor base. Mr Ng did not disclose details of the planned listing but said any money raised will help the company to grow its business and fund potential acquisitions of advanced material companies.

Its shares in Singapore were up 0.5 cent, or 0.6 per cent, at 83 cents as at midday on Jan 16. BLOOMBERG