TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — TSMC’s investment in the German state of Saxony is drawing more semiconductor companies to the region, as local officials seek to deepen ties with Taiwan and attract further investment at next week’s SEMICON Taiwan trade fair.
Saxony Trade & Invest Corp. Managing Director Thomas Horn said the region would use the Taipei trade show to showcase its semiconductor expertise and promote the experiences of companies already operating there, including Taiwanese firms, per a press release. Saxony’s three major cities — Dresden, Leipzig, and Chemnitz — will also seek to strengthen business and technology ties with Taiwan.
Saxony has attracted Taiwanese companies including Marketech International Corp. and Taiwan Puritic Corp., as well as Japanese firms Kurita Water Industries and Mitutoyo and US companies Elemental Scientific and Shin-Etsu MicroSi. Horn explained that the growing number of suppliers and service providers around the European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company project highlights Saxony’s increasing importance in the global semiconductor industry.
TSMC, Bosch, Infineon, and GlobalFoundries are among the companies expanding semiconductor operations in the region. Infineon opened its fourth fab in Dresden in July, three months ahead of schedule, while GlobalFoundries secured approval to expand a chemical storage facility in four months, compared with the nine to 12 months the process typically takes, according to Saxony Trade & Invest.
The region is also expanding infrastructure to support industrial growth, including a new river water treatment plant, a separate industrial water distribution system, and new power lines. Saxony is seeking to strengthen its workforce through STEM programs, vocational training, and the Semiconductor Talent Incubation Program at TU Dresden, which is tailored to Taiwan and TSMC.
Saxony’s research ecosystem covers areas including medical technology, neuromorphic computing, quantum computing, and physical AI. The region’s physical AI capabilities span sensors, energy-efficient chips, AI models, communications networks, intelligent robots, and the computing infrastructure needed to support them.
These fields are of growing interest to Taiwanese partners, with academic and scientific cooperation between Saxony and Taiwan expanding in recent years. Joint initiatives have nearly doubled from 36 in 2023 to 65, according to Saxony Trade & Invest.
Saxony is positioning itself as a European base for companies seeking access to Western and Eastern European markets while expanding its microelectronics ecosystem beyond chip manufacturing. The state aims to attract more international companies across IC design, packaging and testing, application development, and production.
Horn added that investments across the semiconductor value chain, combined with growing demand for AI and digitalization, would create opportunities for further growth in the region. Saxony’s participation in SEMICON Taiwan is intended to build on those developments by attracting additional investors and strengthening cooperation with Taiwanese companies and institutions.
