During the pandemic, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra—a friend of Liu Te-Ying for over forty years—helped Taiwanese companies secure TSMC capacity. Now, he is inviting Liu to join Micron’s board of directors, a move industry insiders view as strategically important in Micron's competition for HBM (high-bandwidth memory).

While the semiconductor sector focused on analyzing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) massive multi-billion dollar investment in America, global third-largest DRAM manufacturer Micron Technology announced another significant development on March 5th: an invitation to Liu Te-Ying to join its board following his resignation as TSMC chairman last year.

Sanjay Mehrotra, current CEO of Micron (pictured above), stated that Liu’s “decades-long experience leading one of the world's most advanced semiconductor companies and extensive operational knowledge from large-scale wafer fabs will help us expand our business scale to meet growth opportunities brought about by AI applications ranging from data centers to edge computing.”

Since retiring, Liu has settled in America where he founded the 'Center for Technology Competitiveness & Industrial Policy’ (TCIP) think tank at his alma mater UC Berkeley and served on an engineering advisory committee. He also established the J&M Copper Beech Ventures fund. His agreement to temporarily join Micron's board dispels rumors of a potential return to Intel.

Notably, Liu Te-Ying shares a less publicized connection with Sanjay Mehrotra: they were classmates in Berkeley’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Science master program over forty years ago under the guidance of Professor William Oldham. Both briefly worked at Intel after graduation.

Although details about their student interactions are scarce, Yang Kuan-Li (also a UC Berkeley EECS Ph.D. advised by Prof. Oldham and currently Executive Director of the Institute for Industrial Innovation at National Taipei University of Technology) noted that Professor Oldham’s teaching style was notably liberal, encouraging graduate students to pursue independent research while fostering camaraderie through group activities like skiing trips.

Several industry insiders told 'This Week' magazine that during the pandemic-induced chip shortage, a Taiwanese IC design company secured TSMC capacity thanks to Sanjay Mehrotra leveraging his relationship with Liu Te-Ying—a clear demonstration of their close connection.

While their long friendship and widely recognized technical expertise are factors, industry observers generally believe Micron’s invitation values more than just decades-long camaraderie; it aims to strengthen cooperation between the company and TSMC.

Historically, wafer foundries had limited interaction with DRAM manufacturers. However, NVIDIA's rise has changed this dynamic: high-end AI chips now require advanced packaging technology CoWoS from TSMC that integrates GPUs (graphics processing units) with HBM, deepening ties between memory makers and TSMC.

Furthermore, reliance on TSMC extends beyond cutting-edge packaging for DRAM manufacturers. As the evolution of HBM increasingly aligns it with logic process technologies, memory companies can no longer operate solely within their established domains; manufacturing Base Die (the foundational chip) for HBMs or even engaging in 3D integration requires wafer fabrication assistance.

According to Wu Chin-Jung, General Manager at MicroDrive Technology: “In the past, base dies were produced using traditional processes. With HBM4 entering the market, more advanced FinFET technology is required; this necessitates adopting 12nm, or even down to 5nm or 3nm logic process technologies—a challenge for memory companies.” Consequently, the world’s top three HBM manufacturers – SK hynix, Micron and Samsung – have all expressed interest in outsourcing base die production orders to TSMC.

(Author: Wang Zicong; Full article available at This Week magazine)