Fujifilm expands key chip material output to capture AI demand

Fujifilm Holdings Corp. is expanding production of key materials used in advanced semiconductor manufacturing to capitalize on surging demand. 

The global expansion of data centers for artificial intelligence has created bottlenecks and shortages across the supply chain, which has boosted the company better known for its cameras and office copier machines. Fujifilm this month opened a new fabrication building that will help it triple production of post-CMP cleaners at its factory in Japan's southern prefecture of Oita.  Those are essential for removing particles and residues from wafers after chemical-mechanical polishing.

  The Tokyo-based company spent ¥7 billion ($44 million) on the expansion project after forecasting the market will grow rapidly going forward. Semiconductors mark the most promising growth segment for Fujifilm's business, which has been hurt by stagnation in office equipment sales. The company's stock suffered its worst decline on record last month after earnings disappointed.

 

  Fujifilm has been ramping up cutting-edge product development and output capacity of a wide range of semiconductor materials, including CMP slurries, post-CMP cleaners, photoresists and polyimides. Like other Japanese companies in the chip supply chain, Fujifilm is adapting its chemicals expertise from another industrial sector to the precision manufacturing of essential fabrication supplies. Revenue from this business grew 25% from a year ago in the April-June quarter.

  The new investment is part of a broader push to establish semiconductor manufacturing materials and biopharmaceuticals as the core businesses at Fujifilm. The company is also considering spinning off the struggling legacy business, which still accounts for 35% of the group's overall revenue. Fujifilm says listing the unit as a separate company would allow it to make investment decisions more swiftly in its new areas of focus.

  Fujifilm is looking to position itself as a supplier across more of the chipmaking process, including materials for lithography and advanced packaging. The company has developed AI-driven tools that help engineers identify formulas for new chemicals in a matter of months, rather than the years the research would previously take.