AEM Holdings Ltd. (“AEM”), a global leader in test innovation, and ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. (“ASE”), the leading provider of semiconductor assembly, testing and materials services, have entered a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the development of test solutions for the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence (“AI”) and high-performance computing (“HPC”) markets. The collaboration combines AEM’s proprietary test technologies with ASE’s world-class manufacturing scale to deliver disruptive test solutions tailored for next-generation compute platforms.
Under the agreement, a wholly owned subsidiary of ASE will subscribe for 3,350,000 ordinary shares of AEM at an issue price of S$3.591 per share, raising approximately S$12 million in gross proceeds for AEM. The new shares represent 1.06% of AEM’s issued share capital. Additionally, the subsidiary will receive 28,111,856 free detachable warrants, divided into two equal tranches, each subject to certain ASE-attributable revenue-related conditions. The warrants can be exercised into ordinary shares, with the Tranche 1 exercise price set at 103% of the volume weighted average price (“VWAP”) of AEM’s shares on the signing date and the Tranche 2 exercise price at 105% of such VWAP. If fully exercised, the warrants would result in an additional 8.935% of AEM’s current issued share capital. The transaction is subject to conditions including approval from the Singapore Exchange for listing and quotation of the new shares.
Proceeds from the private placement will support AEM’s expansion in Taiwan and the integration of AEM’s test technologies, including highly parallel test architectures and advanced thermal management capabilities, into ASE’s manufacturing and test environments. The funds will also advance AEM’s product roadmap and accelerate joint go-to-market initiatives for AI and HPC applications. This partnership also supports ISE Labs, a wholly owned subsidiary of ASE, as it expands AI and HPC processor development capabilities for early-stage testing, validation, and characterization. These efforts focus on heterogeneous integration architectures, including multi-chiplet and advanced system-in-package designs, as well as optical interconnect technologies critical to next-generation compute platforms. ASE’s ATM portfolio further strengthens these initiatives with high-volume advanced packaging and test capabilities for production-scale deployment.
Ken Hsiang, Chief Executive Officer of ISE Labs, stated: “As compute architectures grow more complex and time-to-production continues to compress, test has become a critical enabler of performance, reliability, and manufacturability for next-generation AI and HPC systems. By combining ISE’s advanced characterization and production-readiness capabilities with AEM’s scalable, high-parallel test technologies and system-level engineering strengths, this strategic partnership enables rapid transition from validation to ASE’s high-volume deployment while addressing the increasing complexity of advanced compute testing.” Samer Kabbani, Chief Executive Officer of AEM, commented: “This partnership represents an important step in AEM’s strategy to work closely with industry leaders to advance the state of AI and HPC testing. ASE’s forward-looking approach and global scale make them an ideal partner as test requirements continue to intensify across advanced compute platforms. By combining our respective strengths, we aim to develop and deploy next-generation test solutions that help customers improve performance, scalability, and time-to-market.”
The strategic partnership underscores the growing importance of advanced test solutions in the AI and HPC markets, where increasing complexity and time-to-market pressures demand innovative approaches. By leveraging each other’s strengths, AEM and ASE aim to address the evolving needs of semiconductor manufacturers and accelerate the deployment of next-generation compute platforms. Further details about the partnership can be found on the official announcements at ASE's website and NewMediaWire.
