Nanya Technology and Winbond Electronics Challenge the AI Agent Era! The 'Four Golden Supply Chains' Will Be the Biggest Winners

Previously, if someone told you that a chip design, which once took engineers three to six months, could now be completed by AI in just 48 hours, your first reaction might have been: 'This must be science fiction.' But today, this is already a reality unfolding in the semiconductor industry.

Chinese AI unicorn Moonshot AI (Moon's Dark Side) has recently officially launched its large open-weight model Kimi K3. Beyond its capabilities in reasoning, programming, and AI Agent functions, it has drawn global attention from the semiconductor market due to its demonstrated potential for highly automated chip design.

More notably, within just 48 hours of Kimi K3’s launch, soaring demand overwhelmed computing capacity, forcing Moonshot AI to temporarily suspend new user subscriptions—an event that once again proves AI Agents have moved beyond concept into real enterprise application.

Here’s the key point: what matters is not how powerful Kimi K3 is, but what it represents—AI is now starting to 'work for people,' not just 'chat with people.' This signifies that the focus of AI investment has officially shifted from the 'computing power race' to the 'efficiency revolution.'

When AI begins to 'do the work' for humans, a major wealth reallocation opportunity emerges. As AI Agents evolve comprehensively, which supply chains will be the first to reap massive profits?

1. The Most Certain Battlefield: High-Speed Interconnect

If NVIDIA's (NVDA-US) GPU is the super brain for computation, then AI Agents like Kimi K3—using a Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture—are like splitting that brain into countless specialized offices. When an Agent processes a complex task, these offices must frequently exchange massive amounts of data. If the 'corridor' (transmission bandwidth) is too narrow, even the smartest brain will stall.

Therefore, 'high-speed interconnect' is the most certain and rigid demand in the AI Agent era.

1. High-Speed Switches and Optical Modules (from 800G to 1.6T)

As AI clusters grow geometrically, data transmission is entering a golden period of upgrading from 800G to 1.6T.

Accton (2345-TW): As the global leader in high-end switches, Accton acts as the 'traffic control headquarters' in AI clusters. Leveraging deep partnerships with major U.S. CSPs, and with its 800G products entering mass production, its profit growth potential is highly promising.

Optical Communication Leaders: Winsem (6442-TW), Lintel (3450-TW), and HC SemiTek (4979-TW): These companies control the 'optical nerve' of data centers. The upgrade of optical module specifications is an irreversible trend, and their order visibility is solid.

2. CPO (Co-Packaged Optics) and Silicon Photonics

When traditional copper transmission hits physical limits, CPO technology—integrating optical components directly with chips—becomes the only solution.

TSMC (2330-TW): Beyond advanced process nodes, TSMC’s COUPE platform and CPO silicon photonics integration technology are key tools in building its deepest moat.

Auras (3363-TW): Specializing in optical pin packaging, it is a core partner in TSMC’s silicon photonics ecosystem, possessing a highly exclusive niche.

2. System-Level Upgrade: The 'High-Speed Signal' Defense of PCB and CCL

Don’t think of PCBs as just circuit boards! In the AI Agent era, these boards must carry transmission frequencies multiple times higher than before. The industry competition has shifted from 'can it be made' to 'can it run ultra-high-frequency signals without distortion.'

1. High-End Copper Clad Laminate (CCL)

Taiyo Yuden (6274-TW) and Laminated (6213-TW): These are the absolute leaders in high-end CCL. Their moat lies in patented R&D for Low Loss (LL) materials. As AI server motherboard layers surge from traditional 10+ layers to over 20–30 layers, the resulting increase in product gross margins is remarkable.

2. ABF Substrates

Unimicron (3037-TW), Nan Ya PCB (8046-TW), and Kinsus (3189-TW): ABF substrates are the indispensable 'foundation' for high-end computing chips. As chip sizes grow and packaging becomes more complex, demand for high-quality substrates is rigidly supported. Unimicron, as the industry leader, benefits from a dual moat of economies of scale and advanced process certification.

3. Memory and Storage: The 'Memory Vault' Mega Upgrade for AI Agents

The biggest difference between AI Agents and regular AI is their need for 'long-context access' and 'multi-round deep reasoning.' Just as you’d need piles of reference materials and notes on your desk to handle a complex 48-hour project, this generates massive KV Cache, directly driving explosive demand for memory and storage devices.

1. DDR5 Capacity Priority

Nanya Technology (2408-TW) and Winbond Electronics (2344-TW): With DRAM contract prices recovering and high-capacity DDR5 demand surging, the DRAM industry is entering a clear recovery cycle, offering significant profit elasticity.

2. High IOPS Control ICs and eSSD

Phison (8299-TW): AI Agents require extremely high IOPS (input/output operations per second) when rapidly retrieving data. Phison has long focused on enterprise SSD (eSSD) control ICs and customized solutions, successfully securing the most profitable position in this wave of AI automated inference.

4. The Core Brain: The Golden Age of IP and IC Design

Finally, we return to the 'chip design revolution' truly ignited by Kimi K3. AI Agents can now help write code, integrate IPs, and automatically debug—not to replace engineers, but to transform top-tier IC design companies from riding bicycles to flying jet planes in development efficiency! Shorter development cycles mean a surge in new chip projects.

MediaTek (2454-TW): Beyond the steady contribution of its Dimensity smartphone chips, it is actively entering the AI ASIC (custom chip) market. With world-class SoC integration capabilities, when enterprises want to deploy their own proprietary AI Agent chips, MediaTek becomes the strongest design consultant.

Alchip (3661-TW): The preferred partner for North American cloud service giants (CSPs) developing their own AI chips. Its design experience in cutting-edge 5nm and 3nm processes is unmatched, with precise mastery of high-speed transmission IP integration.

GUC (3443-TW): Backed by TSMC, it possesses top-tier advanced packaging (e.g., CoWoS) design service capabilities. Its inseparable collaboration with TSMC forms a high barrier that latecomers struggle to cross.

Faraday Technology (3035-TW): Successfully transformed into the advanced process and high-speed interface IP domain. With deep accumulation in mature processes and proprietary IP libraries, its operational explosive power is undeniable as it connects to advanced nodes.