SEMI Americas總裁：韓國和台灣若沒有美國便不可能成功

Joe Stockunas, president of SEMI Americas, speaks at SEMICON West 2026 on Oct. 15 local time. (Photo: THE ELEC)

“The heart and foundation of the semiconductor industry are still in the western United States,” said Joe Stockunas, president of SEMI Americas.

Speaking to THE ELEC at SEMICON West 2026 in San Francisco on Oct. 15 local time, Stockunas also said, “Neither Korea nor Taiwan would have succeeded without American companies and technology.”

His remarks came in response to a question about whether the US faces a workforce shortage after decades of limited semiconductor fab construction since the 1990s. He acknowledged that the country had “lost a generation” of talent.

“We have a strong foundation, but we need more people, and we need to train them,” he said.

Stockunas repeatedly emphasized that the semiconductor industry has returned to the US. “We’ve seen strong growth every year since the CHIPS Act,” he said. “Announced investments alone exceed $800 billion.”

He said government support has created favorable conditions for building semiconductor manufacturing facilities, but supporting infrastructure, including materials supply, needs further expansion.

“Companies are spending a lot of time explaining why government support is needed,” he said. “We would like to see the investment tax credits available for fab construction extended to supplier infrastructure. We’re working hard to make that happen.”

Q&A

Q: Is this year’s SEMICON West the largest ever?

A: Last year’s event was the largest in 17 years. This year, the industry is growing again, and the event has expanded. It was bigger in the late 1990s, when the US was building fabs.

Now we’re building fabs in the US again, and this has become one of the largest exhibitions in the past 17 years. This year’s event is almost the same size as last year’s. The final numbers aren’t in yet, but we had 1,514 exhibiting companies last year and 1,502 this year.

It’s been a very successful event. The key point is that the semiconductor industry has returned to the US. We’ve seen strong growth every year since the CHIPS Act.

Q: How is the industry approaching the development of next-generation semiconductors?

A: The future looks bright from a technology perspective. For a long time, people have said Moore’s Law is dead. But Moore’s Law has simply changed.

We’ve continued making chips smaller. IBM has demonstrated a 1-nanometer chip, and the most advanced commercial products are around 2 nanometers. Going below 2 nanometers is difficult. We’re approaching the angstrom scale. But advanced packaging allows us to keep increasing data transfer speeds.

The next major development is photonics. It uses laser technology to convert electrical signals into optical signals and back again. Optics literally uses light signals. Another important advantage is much greater energy efficiency. It offers benefits in both speed and energy efficiency.

Interest in photonics is growing, and what’s particularly exciting is that it is becoming practical.

Fiber-optic cables attracted enormous attention 25 years ago. The technology converted electrical signals into light and transmitted them through fiber-optic cables. But there was a problem with the last short stretch. There was too much copper wiring inside homes, making the technology impractical, and we eventually moved to Wi-Fi.

It didn’t work out 25 years ago, but now it’s being implemented at the chip level. Chip-level photonics will drive the next wave of progress.

Photonics will also change semiconductor structures. We’ll use more compound semiconductors.

For example, Nvidia invested $2 billion in Coherent, a major producer of indium phosphide (InP). InP is a compound semiconductor used to generate optical signals. It enables faster, more energy-efficient signal transmission.

That’s the next step. Silicon will carry electrical signals, while compound semiconductors, or optical materials, will handle light signals.

Q: What comes after that?

A: Quantum computing.

You’re not going to have a quantum computer sitting on your desk. It requires superconductivity, which means operating at temperatures close to absolute zero. That requires complex cooling and vacuum systems.

Quantum computing may be suitable for large computers or data centers, but not for mobile phones or laptops.

It will take time before quantum computing becomes practical. Semiconductors will continue to greatly expand human capabilities over the next 20 to 30 years.

Q: The US is strong in software but weak in manufacturing. Even if semiconductor fabs are built, there are concerns about a shortage of workers.

A: That’s definitely a challenge.

I worked at the last two fabs built in Silicon Valley: AMD’s Submicron Development Center (SDC) and Intel’s D2 facility. They were built between 1988 and 1990.

Unfortunately, more than 35 years later, both have closed. There aren’t many semiconductor manufacturing facilities left in Silicon Valley.

Back then, we were building fabs across the US. The construction teams in our division knew how to build them.

Building a fab isn’t something just anyone can do. Even the foundation work requires specialized skills. You have to prevent microscopic contamination throughout the fab and its supporting facilities. You also need infrastructure connections for vacuum, gases, liquids and water.

We haven’t done that work for a long time.

My daughter doesn’t work in the semiconductor industry. That illustrates how we’ve lost a generation. We need to rebuild that workforce.

Fortunately, many companies operate globally. I did, too. I spent a lot of time doing important work in Taiwan.

Neither Korea nor Taiwan would have succeeded without American companies and American technology. The heart and foundation of the semiconductor industry are still in the western United States.

We have a strong foundation, but we need more people, and we need to train them. There are good programs in place. Much of what we’ve discussed today will help address the workforce shortage. We’re also receiving strong government support.

American politics is deeply divided, but the two parties have never been divided over semiconductors. The current administration has provided substantial support, and so did the previous administration.

As a result, we now have more than $800 billion in investment.

I’m particularly pleased that the current administration and the Commerce Department recognize the need for electricity and water, are attracting foreign investment and are expanding power infrastructure.

We have plenty of work to do just building semiconductor fabs.

Government support has made us competitive in building semiconductor manufacturing facilities. But we still need to expand the supporting infrastructure.

For example, we need to increase materials supply. Companies are spending a lot of time explaining how the government can help build the infrastructure needed to secure materials for their manufacturing facilities.

Q: Chipmakers building fabs in the US want to bring their supply chains with them. But materials, components and equipment suppliers face shortages of workers, capital and time. What is the solution?

A: First, we’d like to see the investment tax credits available for fab construction extended to supplier infrastructure. That would help enormously. We’re working very hard to make it happen.

Second, there are several workforce development programs.

The US also has a very strong military, and military personnel operate complex weapons systems.

They don’t manufacture semiconductors, but operating those complex systems requires mechanical and electrical technical skills.

Those skills can readily be transferred to operating complex systems in the semiconductor industry.

Men and women leaving the military may never have manufactured semiconductors, but we’re actively tapping into that talent pool. It’s proving very helpful.

Q: SEMI President Ajit Manocha has forecast that the semiconductor market could reach $3 trillion by 2035.

A: Sometimes I want to ask Ajit to show me his calculations. I’m usually the one who does the math.

But the current situation is genuinely exciting.

There’s plenty of semiconductor demand beyond AI, but right now it’s coming mainly from generative AI.

Over the next decade, inference AI will expand, followed by physical AI. Every time we move to the next stage, we’ll need 10 times as many semiconductors.

Price increases have also contributed significantly to this year’s tremendous growth.

We are making more semiconductors, that’s true. But the reason the market has grown to $1.5 trillion in a single year is pricing.

Even so, there is underlying growth, and the market will become very large.

Q: What do you think about competition from Chinese companies such as CXMT and concerns in the stock market?

A: I’ve been seeing those discussions all week.

I hope people don’t judge the industry solely by the stock market.

The US has a strong tendency to focus on short-term results. I’ve worked at two publicly traded American companies, and it often felt as though the companies were being judged entirely on their quarterly results.

That’s far too short-term a perspective.

We need to look further ahead. Over two, three or five years, we should examine revenue growth, value creation and the margins that follow.

The business opportunities in the semiconductor industry and the growth we’re seeing now are very solid.

Q: Forty-seven Korean companies participated in this year’s SEMICON West, a relatively small share of the overall exhibition. What opportunities does the event offer Korean companies?

A: SEMICON West is where the semiconductor industry’s headquarters come together. Every year, the industry gathers here.

I spent 25 years as a senior executive in the semiconductor industry. Everyone I do business with is here.

If you don’t attend, you’re missing opportunities.

That’s because Silicon Valley remains the center of our industry.

Q: Next year’s event will undergo major changes, moving to Phoenix and taking place in the spring. Phoenix is attracting numerous semiconductor fabs. How much bigger could the event become?

A: That’s exactly why we’re holding the event in Phoenix for the next several years.

There are already $330 billion in announced investments in Phoenix.

The semiconductor industry will create another 60,000 jobs there.

I’m genuinely envious that SEMICON Korea attracts 100,000 people even though it’s held in cold February.

Phoenix has great weather. As many people will be working there as in Korea’s semiconductor industry.

Phoenix will attract 100,000 people, too.