Nordic R&D Expertise Can Strengthen Taiwan’s Chip Sector: Panelists

Taipei: Taiwan can draw on the Nordic countries' advanced research capabilities and specialized talent to complement its strengths in semiconductor integration and mass production, industry and trade representatives said Friday. According to Focus Taiwan, Europe's lack of a major chip manufacturer such as TSMC should not be mistaken for an absence of semiconductor capabilities, SEMI Global Chief Marketing Officer and Taiwan President Terry Tsao said during a panel discussion at the Sweden-Finland Pavilion at SEMICON Taiwan 2026 in Taipei. Europe has expertise in advanced research, materials, compound semiconductors, and other specialized technologies needed to advance the industry, Tsao said. Taiwan, meanwhile, excels at scaling technologies and bringing them into mass production, he said. "That does not mean that R and D or advanced research is not relevant," Tsao added. Cooperation should therefore extend beyond factory investment to include research, talent development, educational exchanges, and access to end markets, he said. Finland's representative to Taiwan, Lauri Raunio, noted that Finland has increased investment in microelectronics, photonics, and quantum computing while expanding shared cleanroom facilities that allow smaller companies to conduct research without having to build their own. Finnish companies are strong at developing and applying new technologies but can sometimes struggle to bring them to scale, an area in which Taiwan excels, Raunio said. During the discussion, MediaTek Inc.'s investments in Finland and Sweden provided one example of how Nordic expertise has contributed to the development of a Taiwanese technology company. MediaTek Senior Department Manager Marko Kukkohovi stated that the company recruited a core group of engineers from Nokia's wireless modem team in Finland who helped develop its fourth-generation and, in particular, fifth-generation mobile communications technologies. MediaTek has also drawn on specialists in Sweden for digital signal processor architecture and r elated development tools, Kukkohovi said. "It's all about the deep concentration of specialization and talent that brought us together," he said. Business Sweden President and CEO Jan Larsson mentioned that Nordic countries were unlikely to compete with Taiwan in large-scale semiconductor manufacturing but could contribute research expertise and connections to advanced industrial users. Taiwanese companies should view Europe as a single market while recognizing the different capabilities offered by individual countries, Larsson said.