LG enters chip packaging with new laser imaging machine

LG has rolled out a laser direct imaging (LDI) lithography machine for chip packaging and high-density PCBs, a maskless process that trades some resolution for higher throughput. It arrives as TSMC's CoWoS advanced-packaging capacity, used to package AI accelerators like Nvidia's GPUs, remains constrained.

Why it matters: Advanced packaging, not raw wafer fabrication, has been a key bottleneck limiting how fast Nvidia and others can ship AI chips. A faster, if lower-resolution, alternative to CoWoS could ease that constraint, fitting the broader pattern of the AI supply chain scrambling for capacity also seen in recent memory chip price spikes and SK hynix's profit-driven staff bonuses.