LB Semicon to Expand Capacity on 10-Year Qualcomm Deal

What happened

According to industry sources on Oct. 26, LB Semicon plans to expand its back-end processing capacity for power management integrated circuits (PMICs) supplied to Qualcomm: it will increase its 200mm wafer-based non-display driver IC (non-DDI) packaging capacity at its Pyeongtaek headquarters plant from 26,000 to 36,000 wafers per month and its 300mm capacity from 3,000 to 5,000 wafers per month, both by 2028, with total investment of approximately 30 billion won. The source-stated cause is meeting Qualcomm's demand and preparing for a potential transition to 300mm processes and higher production volumes; the expansion is also a contractual requirement. LB Semicon provides turnkey services covering bumping, testing and back-end processing for Qualcomm's PMICs used in AI data centers and automobiles. The partnership began in the second half of 2024; after passing Qualcomm's technical review, QMS audit and reliability verification, LB Semicon received mass production approval in August, began mass production in early August and shipped its first products later that month, using copper pillar bump (CPB) and wafer-level packaging (WLP) technologies. The company said it signed a 10-year master supply agreement (MSA) with Qualcomm; per a securities registration statement filed in May, the MSA took effect on Feb. 1 this year, is valid for 10 years with automatic renewals every two years, Qualcomm issues purchase orders (POs), and LB Semicon must continuously maintain reserve capacity equal to 10% of Qualcomm's six-month demand forecasts provided monthly. Once the expansion is completed, annual revenue from the Qualcomm PMIC lines is projected to rise from a current maximum of approximately 30 billion won to around 50 billion won in 2028, equivalent to 10.4% of last year's annual revenue, with revenue expected to increase by approximately 9.5 billion won beginning in the second half of next year. The investment will be funded with 30 billion won allocated to capital expenditures from the 34.26 billion won raised through a rights offering in August, of which 24.8 billion won will go to bumping processes and 5.2 billion won to back-end processes; 15 pieces of equipment, including electroplating, lithography and sputtering systems, will be delivered in stages from the fourth quarter of this year through the fourth quarter of next year. LB Semicon reported consolidated revenue of 279.168 billion won and operating profit of 20.752 billion won in the first half of this year, with DDI products accounting for more than 70% of revenue.

Impact and signal

Affected components and suppliers

Source and time

Source: The Elec · 10/26/2026 · View original source