MA-tek Chairman Hsieh Yong-Fen Interview / Global Expansion Seizing AI Business Opportunities

 

 

Answer: The semiconductor market this year is very polarized. Currently, everyone is optimistic about the AI field, where top-tier customers and applications are indeed booming. Due to the high difficulty of AI applications, companies that keep up can enjoy significant benefits, while the mature processes related to consumer products are somewhat "cold." However, there is also an opportunity for the consumer market to be revived by AI, just like everyone hopes to have basic AI functions on their computers. If AI can help operations more quickly, the opportunities will be substantial. In the past, people bought phones chasing the latest models; if a phone has AI analysis capabilities, there will definitely be people interested. Even if it only has basic functions, people will still want to buy the new model. The constant innovation in consumer electronics capitalizes on human weaknesses. Taiwan has strong semiconductor capabilities and will definitely develop towards the high-end market rather than entering price-competitive markets. For example, the electric vehicle market in mainland China is developing rapidly, with electric cars costing less than $20,000, which are cheap and good enough to undermine many major manufacturers. Japan's semiconductor industry was the world's leader in the early years, but later gradually withdrew from fields like DRAM, and it took 30 years to want to return and strengthen the semiconductor manufacturing sector.

 

In recent years, Japan has had limited development in cutting-edge products, but the Japanese government has begun to pay attention to semiconductors. We have seen leading semiconductor companies investing in Japan, as well as a series of plans from Sony Semiconductor and the Japanese government. With government support, it is expected that the demand for advanced processes in Japan will quickly lead to more semiconductor manufacturing and derivative demand from south to north.

 

In the past, Japan had fewer IC design companies developing independently, instead relying on the IDM model of large trading companies and internal laboratories. Subsequently, Japan has the opportunity to encourage more IC design companies to develop independently. From the production process perspective, MA-tek also has a greater opportunity to promote its product verification experience in assisting IC design customers in Taiwan to Japan, and the layout is progressing quite smoothly.

 

Investing in research and development, spending money without hesitation.

 

Question: What is MA-tek's growth direction this year?

 

Answer: This year, we strive for double-digit growth, and our overseas layout continues to advance. We will not hold back on R&D investment, which will reach 1.2 to 1.4 billion this year, including the opening of the Suzhou laboratory, expansion and upgrading of testing equipment and laboratory facilities in Nagoya and Kumamoto.

 

In 2022, MA-tek invested 1.8 billion yuan, which included the establishment of two laboratories within a year, located in Shenzhen and Kumamoto respectively. The demand in the mainland market, due to the trend of developing wafer fabs independently, is a significant advantage for MA-tek. Regardless of how mature processes advance, analysis is always needed, and MA-tek can provide quick service value.

 

Q: What is the future layout direction?

 

In recent years, Japan has had limited development in cutting-edge products, but the Japanese government has begun to pay attention to semiconductors. We see leading semiconductor companies investing in Japan, as well as a series of plans between Sony and the Japanese government. With government support, it is expected that the demand for advanced processes in Japan will quickly lead to more semiconductor manufacturing and derivative demand from south to north.

In the past, Japan had fewer IC design companies developing independently, instead relying on the IDM model of large trading companies and internal laboratories. However, Japan now has the opportunity to encourage more IC design companies to develop independently. From the production process perspective, MA-tek also has a greater opportunity to promote its product validation experience in assisting IC design clients in Taiwan to Japan, and the layout is progressing smoothly.

 

Investing in R&D, spending money without hesitation.

 

Q: What is MA-tek's growth direction this year?

 

Answer: This year, we strive for double-digit growth, and our overseas layout continues to advance. We will not hold back on R&D investment, which will reach 1.2 to 1.4 billion this year, including the opening of the Suzhou laboratory, expanding and upgrading the testing equipment and laboratory facilities in Nagoya and Kumamoto.

 

In 2022, MA-tek invested 1.8 billion yuan, which included the establishment of two laboratories within a year, located in Shenzhen and Kumamoto respectively. The demand in the mainland market, due to the trend of developing wafer fabs for self-sufficiency, is a great advantage for MA-tek. Regardless of how the mature process advances, analysis is always needed, and MA-tek can provide fast service value.

 

Q: What is the future layout direction?

MA-tek pursues growth every year. If it develops to the scale of a laboratory with annual revenue of 10 billion in the future, there will be many opportunities. Based on Taiwan's successful experience, replicating successful operational experiences, such as the complete operation of the headquarters in Shanghai, which is preparing to expand its fifth building this year, has been selected and is ready to expand, providing services and starting to develop satellite laboratories in Xiamen, Shenzhen, Suzhou, and other locations.

 

Currently, Japan's operations are developing north and south, replicating Taiwan's experience. Although the location of the Japan operations headquarters is not very clear at the moment, it is reasonable to expect development centered around geographical locations such as Nagoya or Tokyo. MA-tek will soon establish its operations headquarters in Japan, allowing customers to concentrate on using headquarters equipment, avoiding customers from hesitating in sample submission and analysis due to geopolitical issues, export controls, etc. There is no need to send samples abroad, and each regional headquarters can serve all customer-related needs of local customers.

 

Recently, many customers in Penang, Malaysia have established packaging factories, and some customers have inquired whether they can provide services locally. MA-tek is still cautiously evaluating and carefully considering this to avoid expanding too quickly, as the capital requirements are significant and personnel training also takes time. From the perspective of the industry's service characteristics, the packaging factories in Malaysia are primarily of a relatively single type, and future developments will still depend on local growth.

 

From the perspective of the United States, Germany, and Malaysia, Malaysia currently has characteristics that are more likely to develop. After all, the semiconductor industry is a tough industry and requires night shifts. Outside of semiconductors, MA-tek has entered the biomedical research field. The difference observed is in the timing; analyzing and testing in semiconductor development needs to be fast, measured in hours for immediate analysis, while in the biomedical testing business, a delay of three months is acceptable. If speed is not a requirement, the pace of making money will be slow, and thus it is necessary to focus on top cases. Therefore, we really appreciate clients who are "in a hurry". Sometimes clients may feel embarrassed to say it, but they tend to push harder. However, we are actually very willing to get paid quickly, benefiting both parties.

 

 

MA-tek Chairman Xie Yongfen Exclusive Interview / She Encourages Young People to Brave Pursue Their Dreams

MA-tek (3587) Chairman Xie Yongfen encourages young people to bravely pursue their dreams. She stated that the company looks for diverse talents in recruitment, and even students who love playing video games will be a plus in interviews. Those who can cook have qualities that align with material analysis scientists and will also be given priority in hiring.

 

Xie Yongfen is Taiwan's first female PhD in materials science, having studied from bachelor's to doctorate at National Tsing Hua University. She has worked at institutions such as the Industrial Technology Research Institute, Bell Labs, United Microelectronics Corporation, and AU Optronics. In 2002, she founded MA-tek and dedicated herself to the materials analysis industry, recognizing the trend that semiconductor IC products require health checks just like humans. In recent years, she has gradually entered the field of archaeological authentication and plans to venture into the biomedical field in the future. Therefore, she strongly encourages young people to pursue their dreams bravely.

 

Xie Yongfen is good at cooking. She said that when she has free time, she cooks in a scientific way, whether it's rice noodle soup or boiled noodles with sauce, she handles it with ease. In her view, a good scientist is actually like a chef who can cook well, adjusting the saltiness of the dish or the ratio of ingredients to achieve deliciousness. The philosophy of cooking also applies to science, just like the recipe for a scientific experiment. She said that during interviews, she first asks candidates if they play video games and cook. Candidates initially thought this would be a disadvantage, but she emphasized that it is a plus. If they can do it, they will be prioritized for hiring. Young people who play video games are quick and nimble, and if they play Japanese or American games, even better, as their foreign language skills are stronger for smoother gameplay.

 

Xie Yongfen values diverse qualities in talent acquisition. She said that holding a diverse mindset allows many children to light up with excitement when they see her, smiling broadly due to the affirmation they receive. Different hobbies can be developed here to showcase their strengths, and some hobbies do not need to be completely obstructed; appropriate development can create a second specialty. Regarding diverse development, Xie Yongfen mentioned that the professional analysis laboratory can ensure the safety of IC shipments, whether for automotive or consumer products. MA-tek not only integrates technology industry services but also becomes a third-party organization for intellectual property infringement assessments, successfully completing related assessment services, and has ventured into archaeological historical assessment research, collaborating with relevant historical museums in Tainan and Taitung.

 

Due to the emphasis on the semiconductor industry chain by various countries, MA-tek has previously received numerous invitations for overseas laboratory collaboration, including a letter from the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, known as the "German Institute for Industrial Research," inviting MA-tek for cooperative research, indicating a focus on the field of analysis. MA-tek invests about 800 million yuan in equipment each year. Regarding equipment and laboratory construction, Xie Yongfen analyzed that the premise for setting up a laboratory is the presence of a cluster effect, but just like opening a hospital requires doctors.

 

The above information is extracted from the Economic Daily.