Ajinomoto Fine-Techno to Expand ABF Film Production Capacity, Anticipates Easing AI Chip Supply Shortages by Early 2027

August 30, 2026

The Wall Street Journal Japan

Overview

Ajinomoto Fine-Techno disclosed plans to significantly boost its production capacity for Ajinomoto Build-up Film (ABF) film across multiple manufacturing sites, driven by exploding demand for AI chips. The company projects to meet most major customer demands by early 2027. However, tight supply for specific ultra-high-performance grades of ABF film may persist, highlighting ongoing challenges in this critical segment.

In Depth

Key Findings

Ajinomoto Fine-Techno has announced a substantial expansion of its production capacity for ABF (Ajinomoto Build-up Film) film, a flagship product, in response to the rapid surge in demand for AI chips. This expansion plan spans multiple manufacturing sites, and the company anticipates being able to largely meet robust customer demand by early 2027. ABF film is a crucial material for high-performance semiconductor packages such as CPUs and GPUs, and it is indispensable for the increasing multi-layering and finer wiring required by advanced AI processors. Resolving the long-standing ABF substrate shortage, which has been a bottleneck for AI chip supply, heavily relies on stabilizing the supply of ABF film. Ajinomoto Fine-Techno’s announcement marks a significant milestone in supporting the healthy growth of the entire AI industry.

Technical and Product Details

ABF film is an insulating film used during the formation of wiring layers in printed circuit boards, requiring the following characteristics:

High Heat Resistance: Maintains stable quality even under high temperatures encountered during semiconductor manufacturing processes.
Low Dielectric Loss: Minimizes signal loss during high-frequency signal transmission, enabling high-speed data communication.
Fine Processability: Exhibits excellent processing characteristics for accurately forming sub-micron level fine wiring patterns.
Low Coefficient of Thermal Expansion: Mitigates CTE mismatch between chips and substrates, preventing package warpage and cracks, thereby enhancing reliability.

In addition to increasing production of existing products, the company is also focusing on developing and expanding capacity for ‘ultra-high-performance grade’ ABF films, which meet the even higher performance demands of next-generation AI chips. However, for this specific grade, the technical difficulty is high, suggesting that supply may remain tight.

Background and Industry Context

Major semiconductor players like NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel are accelerating their AI chip development race, leading to an unprecedented demand for high-performance ABF substrates and their raw material, ABF film. The increasing complexity of AI chips, especially their integration with HBM (High Bandwidth Memory), requires more layers in ABF substrates and more advanced material properties. Consequently, the shortage of ABF film has directly impacted AI chip production schedules, making the actions of key suppliers like Ajinomoto Fine-Techno a focal point of industry attention.

Strategic Significance and Outlook

Ajinomoto Fine-Techno’s capacity expansion is expected to significantly contribute to stabilizing the supply of AI chips towards early 2027. The company plans to continue monitoring market demand and making strategic capital investments to strengthen its position as a core supplier within the AI semiconductor ecosystem. Furthermore, it will focus on R&D to pursue even higher performance, supporting the future evolution of AI technology from a materials perspective.

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