TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — United Microelectronics Corp. said Tuesday that its flagship fab in Tainan has earned Lighthouse status from the World Economic Forum.
UMC said Fab 12A is the first semiconductor foundry to secure a spot on the WEC’s Global Lighthouse Network. The network, which spans 189 sites across 30 countries and 35 sectors, recognizes the innovative use of Fourth Industrial Revolution, or 4IR technologies.
UMC made Fab 12A its pilot fab for digital transformation in 2017. In a press release, the WEC said UMC “focuses on the production of specialized semiconductors, which have higher value but also greater process complexity.”
It said the company “adopted agile strategies to deploy over 48 4IR use cases, such as a machine learning model to shorten design kit delivery time by 57% and an AI defect analysis system helping raise yields to 97%.” It said these steps significantly boosted customer engagement, quality, and profitability.