Hi everyone! This is Cheng Ting-Fang, your host for this week’s #tech Asia, saying hello from Taipei, where I am just recovering from several intensive days covering the annual SEMICON Taiwan industry show with my colleague Lauly Li."Packed" is really the word to describe the event. The exhibition halls were completely full, with booths spilling on to walkways, outside conference rooms and even next to escalators — basically wherever organisers could find space. Some exhibitors had to build two-storey booths because there simply wasn’t enough room on the ground.

But what caught our attention this year wasn’t just the size of the show. Chip equipment makers were out in force, showcasing their latest models for advanced manufacturing, packaging and testing. At the same time, we saw something else: material suppliers and some of the industry’s lesser-known “hidden champions” were becoming much more visible and much more vocal.

Trumpf, for example, is known in the semiconductor industry for supplying the powerful laser source inside ASML’s extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, which are critical for cutting-edge chip production. Chief technology officer Berthold Schmidt said the company is tripling its EUV laser source capacity over two years and significantly expanding its presence in Taiwan to capture growing opportunities in the artificial intelligence ecosystem. As it broadens its portfolio from chips to systems, Trumpf is also demonstrating new applications for its ultrashort-pulse lasers, from precision processing of glass substrates to creating tiny channels in chip packages for next-generation thermal management, both emerging technologies crucial to future AI infrastructure.

Another German optics maker, Zeiss, has long been a hidden champion in the advanced chip equipment supply chain as the exclusive supplier of optics for EUV lithography systems. Now, led by Frank Rohmund, executive board member of the Zeiss Group, the company is bringing its optical expertise further into the spotlight, showcasing its latest microscopy, X-ray and optical metrology tools to inspect, measure and correct increasingly complex three-dimensional chip structures. Zeiss is also expanding its R&D and laboratory presence in Taiwan, with plans to soon open its third innovation centre focused on semiconductors.

Some less-expected names are also joining the rush. US metals maker Carpenter Technology, a supplier of high-purity stainless steel and other materials used in defence and space applications, is sending senior executives to engage with the Taiwanese chip ecosystem as demand for high-end alloys used in semiconductor facilities surges. Material makers such as Corning and AGC, commonly seen at display industry shows, are also betting big on semiconductors, as their specialty glass could become a next-generation material for building even more powerful AI chips.

The fair’s popularity also reminds me of an anecdote that shows how competitive chip industry reporting is in Taiwan. One rainy evening in Hsinchu, the island’s semiconductor hub, in late August, which also happened to be Valentine’s Day on the lunar calendar, Hou Shang-Yung, a former TSMC executive who is now with Media Tek, was giving a guitar recital. There was no press invitation at all, yet nearly 10 semiconductor beat reporters showed up.

We may be competitors, but when we spotted one another, we couldn’t help exchanging knowing smiles. One said, “How did we all end up here, working on a wet Valentine’s night?” I took the high-speed rail back to Taipei and it was past 11pm when I arrived home. But I think we all had the same thought: Even if the chance of getting any news was slim, it might be a rare opportunity to connect with and learn from an important but low-profile industry veteran.

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