Samsung builds a new home for advanced chip packaging research

Samsung is expanding its semiconductor research footprint in Japan with a new facility dedicated to one of the most important parts of the AI chip race: advanced packaging.

According to iNews24, Samsung has opened its Advanced Package Lab (APL) in Yokohama, Japan, creating a dedicated environment to develop and test next-generation semiconductor packaging technologies.

Samsung reportedly plans to invest around 40 billion yen over five years, with the facility covering roughly 6,600 square meters and employing about 95 researchers from Korea and Japan.

Japan gives Samsung closer access to key suppliers

The APL is designed for research and prototype development rather than mass production. Its work will focus on technologies such as 3.xD chiplet packaging, hybrid bonding, interposers and advanced substrate integration.

That location is particularly important. Japan has a strong network of semiconductor material, component and equipment companies, allowing Samsung to test new technologies much closer to its suppliers.

Samsung is already working with around 50 Japanese companies. Conducting evaluations locally could significantly shorten the time required to qualify new materials and processes, especially when compared with shipping materials to Korea for testing.

As AI accelerators become more powerful, connecting logic processors with High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) efficiently is becoming just as important as improving the chips themselves.

Samsung has been pursuing a vertically integrated semiconductor strategy spanning memory, foundry and advanced packaging. The new Yokohama lab could help strengthen that approach while giving the company deeper access to Japan’s semiconductor ecosystem.

Japan’s government is also supporting the project with subsidies, highlighting how advanced packaging has quickly become a strategic battleground in the global AI semiconductor industry.