Singapore Chip-Gear Maker GVT Says AI Boom Far From Over

(Bloomberg) — Semiconductor equipment maker Grand Venture Technology Ltd. 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 Inc. to Infineon Technologies AG build new factories in Asia.

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Demand for artificial intelligence chips is set to grow in the coming years as health care, education and financial sectors adopt more services from AI agents such as Microsoft Corp.’s Copilot, said Julian Ng, chief executive officer of Singapore-based GVT. That’s a boon for up-and-coming equipment suppliers such as GVT, as chipmakers need to invest in their production systems.

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

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

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An array of chipmakers are ramping up chip output in Southeast Asia. Last week, Micron announced a $7 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-center chips in its $7.2 billion plant in Malaysia last year.

Yet President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff policies cast uncertainties to 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 Co. and Intel Corp., 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. Ng didn’t 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 firms.

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