According to SemiAnalysis Chipbook data on exports from South Korea, a significant portion of high-bandwidth memory exports is now heading to Malaysia, reducing shipments to Taiwan. This indicates that the HBM memory used by TSMC for its CoWoS family of advanced packaging technologies—CoWoS-S, CoWoS-L, and CoWoS-R—are increasingly being replaced an unknown packaging facility in Malaysia. Presumably, the only fab capable of integrating so much HBM into product is Intel, known for its advanced packaging technology like EMIB and Foveros. Since TSMC operates no advanced packaging facility in Malaysia, and other players in that country being very small for now, the only logical option is Intel.

Late last year, Intel entered the final phase of its "Project Pelican," an advanced packaging complex in Malaysia, completing the $7 billion buildout. This facility is equipped for die sort and die prep operations and will support both EMIB and Foveros packaging flows, allowing Intel to respond more quickly to customer needs. With Intel's EMIB and Foveros being among the world's most advanced packaging technologies, the large influx of HBM into Malaysia suggests that Intel's foundry customers for advanced packaging services are increasing, diverting demand from TSMC. The data shows that about $1.3 billion worth of HBM is now going to Malaysia, while less than $3 billion is going to Taiwan. This is a significant decrease from over $5 billion going to Taiwan just a few months ago.

Finally, it is worth noting that Intel's EMIB packaging is experiencing a surge in demand from customers developing AI accelerators. Intel has reportedly started EMIB assembly at Amkor's facility in Incheon, South Korea, to handle the increase in orders from large AI customers. The Pelican facility in Malaysia has reportedly also doubled the capacity of the New Mexico campus for packaging. However, we still lack details on the exact number of packages and the yield that Intel's EMIB achieves.