Absolics to raise about W400b to fund glass substrate commercialization

Absolics, the glass substrate investment arm of SKC, announced Friday it will carry out a paid-in capital increase worth about 400 billion won ($287 million) to fund the commercialization of its glass substrate technology.

The company plans to direct the proceeds toward customer evaluation and certification of its glass substrates, alongside equipment upgrades aimed at improving production yields and overall quality across its manufacturing processes.

Glass substrates are considered a next-generation packaging material due to their lower coefficient of thermal expansion and superior flatness compared with conventional plastic-based organic substrates. SKC is targeting the start of mass production next year.

Absolics said it will use the capital raise as a springboard to accelerate its two-track strategy of simultaneously commercializing both embedding and non-embedding products.

The embedding product has successfully completed preliminary evaluation and entered reliability testing. The non-embedding product is participating in a supplier selection process scheduled for the second half of this year, with a proof-of-concept launch planned before year-end depending on the outcome.

Going forward, Absolics will continue making additional investments in line with customer evaluation results and milestone targets. The company will first focus on stably meeting the quality standards required by customers, then use that foundation to review plans for large-scale capacity expansion.

"Through this preemptive fundraising, we will push ahead with Absolics' glass substrate commercialization without disruption and further accelerate our mass production preparations," an SKC official said. "We will continue to solidify our overwhelming technology leadership in the next-generation semiconductor packaging market through close collaboration with strategic partners."

Meanwhile, SKC holds a 70.05 percent stake in Absolics, with Applied Materials holding the remaining 29.95 percent. New share subscriptions will proceed according to each shareholder's internal procedures. Any unsubscribed shares will be allocated through additional subscriptions by existing shareholders or third parties in accordance with the shareholder agreement.