LCD plants are increasingly being converted into AI hubs in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. LG Innotek has announced plans to expand its semiconductor substrate business, while Japan's Shinko Electric Industries has signed an agreement to acquire the Mobara plant. TSMC acquired an Innolux LCD plant and converted it into an advanced packaging facility for AI chips.
LCD plants, once at the center of the display industry, are being reused through the installation of AI-related facilities and semiconductor substrate production lines. South Korea's LG Innotek plans to use LCD plants to expand its semiconductor substrate production capacity and grow its packaging solutions business, including FC-BGA.
Overseas, Japan's Shinko Electric Industries signed an agreement to acquire the Mobara plant in Chiba Prefecture, while Taiwan's TSMC acquired an Innolux LCD plant and converted it into an advanced packaging plant for AI chips. The site of Sharp's Osaka plant was sold to KDDI, and operations at an AI data center are also progressing. Many of these plants have large-scale power and water-supply systems and cleanrooms, which are expected to enable operations to begin ahead of schedule.
Chinese companies' growing share and the sluggish market are behind the current conditions in the LCD market, which is expected to remain led by BOE and China Star. Cooling forward demand and the expanding adoption of OLED are factors, while rising demand for AI data centers is supporting the conversion of these plants.
One example of AI data center utilization is the launch of an AI data center using the power and cooling equipment at Sharp's Sakai plant. Industry sources say that factories that had been a source of concern are being turned into assets amid the AI boom.