“Packaging is really important, by the way, because if you look at it, the packaging capacity is like non-existent.”— Elon Musk, speaking with Gwynne Shotwell on All-In. ( Elon ignited the advanced packaging narrative again, and Liwei's pick ASE ($ASX) is knocking on the door of an All-Time High. (Liwei’s picks rarely disappoint 😉) I want to highlight ASE ($ASX) again for anyone who missed the initial run. Think of it as a mini-$TSM, and one of those rare names that international investors can buy directly through its ADR. The chart is printing a textbook cup-and-handle. If we get a quick handle pullback before the breakout, that’s your prime entry window—because once it clears ATH, there’s no looking back. Here are 15 concrete catalysts behind the ASE($ASX) bull case: 1. $TSM says packaging shortages are limiting customers’ growth. That supports the opportunity for ASE to absorb additional outsourced work. ( 2.TSMC and ASE co-chair Taiwan’s 3DIC manufacturing alliance, coordinating packaging processes, equipment and materials. The partnership already has an operating framework. ( 3. $AMD officially named ASE and SPIL as partners developing and qualifying wafer-based 2.5D EFB packaging for Venice server CPUs. ( 4.Taiwan’s Economic Daily News reported additional $GOOG's TPU packaging and testing orders for ASE in August. A customer catalyst beyond GPUs, pending company confirmation. ( 5.The same report described expanding Intel outsourcing tied to EMIB. ASE could benefit across competing packaging platforms. ( 6.ASE is expanding full-process advanced packaging. Taking on more manufacturing steps creates an opportunity to capture more revenue per package. 7. Management expects 2026 leading-edge packaging and testing revenue above $3.5 billion, with a target to double it in 2027. ( 8.Planned 2026 capex increased from $8.5 billion to roughly $10.5 billion, adding both facilities and equipment to support demand. ( 9. Seven factory buildings are under construction simultaneously in Kaohsiung. Capacity expansion is already underway. ( 10. ASE’s automated 310×310 mm panel-packaging platform is expected to begin production by Q1 2027, supporting FOCoS and FOCoS-Bridge. ( 11. Silicon-photonics/CPO-related production is targeted for late 2026, initially at small volumes. Another potential revenue stream is approaching commercialization. ( 12.The Renwu testing project with WinWay and HTT targets phased operations in 2027, expanding wafer and chip testing capacity. ( 13.August packaging, testing and materials revenue reached NT$51.29 billion: +53.1% YoY in Taiwan dollars and +41.4% in US dollars. ( 14.Q2 packaging, testing and materials revenue grew 36.3% YoY. Segment gross margin rose to 27.3%, from 26.0% in Q1. ( 15. Management guided Q3 segment revenue up another 11–13% sequentially in Taiwan dollars, with gross margin improving to 28–29%. ( The $ASX bull case: capture more packaging and testing work per AI system, then convert new capacity into profitable revenue. The company that finishes the chip when TSMC’s advanced-packaging lines are full, when $AMD needs EFB, when $GOOGL / $INTC need a second packaging path, and when test times keep getting longer. That’s why the multiple re-rated. That’s also why a pullback into strength is more interesting than chasing the first tick through $45.52. Also, the legendary @PhotonCap has been pounding the table on advanced packaging lately. Make sure to check out and subscribe to his Substack:

(Trading ideas) After seeing all the buzz around $Meta’s Muse got me wondering about $GOOG. Given Google's reach across Android, Workspace, and Search, it feels like if they eventually launch a breakout consumer/enterprise agent, distribution could happen almost overnight. If agentic workloads end up exploding, I keep wondering if inference costs will force Google to lean much heavier into their in-house silicon (TPU + Axion CPU) than the market currently models. I’ve been loosely mapping out who might benefit if TPU/Axion production accelerates aggressively from here： $AVGO $ARM $TSM $CLS $LITE $COHR $INTC

$INTC’s glass-substrate patent puts Micro LEDs inside the package🥳🥳 TrendForce reports that the design, originally filed in 2022, embeds semiconductor dies in glass and powers their Micro LEDs through through-glass vias. Proposed uses include internal electrical-test indicators and illuminated lettering on the CPU surface. For $INTC, this describes a way to add lighting and diagnostic functions to chip packaging. The applications described do not establish a high-speed optical data link, so this patent alone should not be treated as a CPO breakthrough or a production announcement. Sources

Found this absolute gem on Substack from fellow Taiwanese analyst @semivision_tw. That’s now TWO Taiwanese creators telling you testing is the next bottleneck! Send us to the moon please 🙏🚀 $FORM $KEYS $TER $AEHR $VIAV

Especially appreciate all the Sunbaes' shoutouts along the way! @pequityresearch @damnang2 @ren_stocks @SaiseiInvesting @JoeyOnMarkets @photonjaeger @RYANHINGSHING @ShanghaoJin @cherryPayment @Leoskie_L the whole point of running my X account is to stay connected with you all! Arigatou ! 🙏

Meta’s Muse is reigniting the CPU trade. $TSM’s CoWoS bottleneck is opening a window for Intel’s EMIB-T. Liwei and @regularwang break down the technology behind Intel’s all-in-one AI play, from CPUs and EMIB-T to 14A and optical I/O.

AUO（友達） hugging $INTC on one side and $TSM on the other, yet trading at barely 1 USD. Taiwan’s market is packed with hidden gems like this. Though TW market isn’t very foreign-investor friendly, so Liwei is just sharing the information —not a stock recommendation. [News from TrendForce] TSMC Plans Mini-Loop at Kaohsiung to Speed CoWoS Tool Validation; Reportedly Eyes AUO Site for CoPoS

With CPU discussions taking over my X timeline, I put together a map of Taiwanese companies tied to the Big Three CPU ecosystems—and where each one sits in the supply chain. The focus here is server CPUs: the companies making the silicon, packaging it, mounting it onto motherboards, and building the systems around it. The CPU trade doesn’t stop at $ARM, $AMD and $INTC

Intel is in talks with Taiwan’s AUO for advanced packaging aimed at CPO (co-packaged optics), due to AUO’s work on Micro LED technology, media report, a project that also uses glass substrates. The two may also work together on advanced packaging for high-density compute. $INTC #AUO# #semiconductors#

Weekend PSA from Liwei: The semiconductor testing sector is about to go parabolic. Judging from Liwei’s industry insights and Taiwan testing price action, don’t wait until October to complain that you found Liwei too late while followers here are sitting on 50–100% gains. $FORM $KEYS $TER $AEHR

$6510.TW (中華精測）Targets 2–3x Capacity as AI Raises Testing Requirements Economic Daily News aims to expand total capacity to two to three times its current level by 2027. The expansion includes a new Taoyuan plant as its product mix shifts toward AI, HPC and ASIC test interfaces. Higher currents and tighter signal-integrity requirements could increase demand for higher-value MEMS probe cards and test boards. If delivered on schedule, the added capacity would give more room to serve that shift. Sources

For $INTC investors: $NVDA among eight tech firms reportedly evaluating $INTC’s 14A Economic Daily News says eight major tech companies are seeking alternatives to $TSM’s constrained capacity. The article reports planned pilot production in Q2 2027 and volume production in Q1 2028. The opening for $INTC is clear: customers need another source of advanced chips. Converting that interest into production orders would give its foundry business a broader customer base. Sources

People really underestimate how deep Dylan Patel's intelligence gathering goes. The density of this guy's real-time supply chain insights is so insane, I swear even internal $TSM engineers would have an existential crisis reading them.

$INTC: If anyone is interested, possible EMIB-T names listed in the U.S. market: $AMKR $KLIC $UMC, and $ATS.VI on the Vienna exchange. Do people realize how Taiwan-heavy this supply chain still is? Most of the parts and process work sit in Taiwan — not with local U.S. suppliers. That’s the part worth asking about. Highlight: @pequityresearch I searched his post for this chart. Thank you sir!