Taiwan Semiconductor Pioneer Huang Chih-jen Dies at 76

Huang Chih-jen, the visionary founder of Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (PSMC), passed away peacefully at his home on July 31 at the age of 76. Dubbed the "nine-lived cat" for his remarkable ability to overcome industry and financial adversity, Huang's life story is a testament to resilience and innovation in Taiwan's semiconductor sector.

Huang's career spanned multiple eras of the tech industry, from personal computers and memory chips to wafer fabrication. Uniquely for a tech magnate, he held a medical doctorate from New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine before transitioning to entrepreneurship. He founded Lite-On Computer in 1987 and later, in 1994, established PSMC, which grew into a significant global memory manufacturer.

The company faced a severe financial crisis in 2012 following the global financial downturn and the DRAM market collapse, leading to its delisting. Facing immense pressure, including demands for personal guarantees and his resignation, Huang embarked on a remarkable turnaround. Within eight years, he cleared NT$120 billion (approximately $3.7 billion USD) in debt, restructured PSMC, and shifted its focus from memory to foundry services. This culminated in PSMC's return to the capital market, first on the emerging stock market in late 2020 and then a successful listing in late 2021.

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He was the only one in the world who could overcome such a debt.

In recent years, Huang steered PSMC towards its "fourth transformation," embracing advanced technologies like AI-driven chip manufacturing, wafer-on-wafer (WoW) stacking, and silicon interposers to avoid price competition in mature processes. Just before his passing, at a July 14 investor conference, he highlighted PSMC's unique position as the only company globally operating in both memory and logic foundry, emphasizing its leading WoW technology and progress with Intel's EMIB certification. He also promised shareholders that the company would issue dividends next year, a final commitment to investors.

Huang Chih-jen's journey from a medical scholar to a titan of the semiconductor industry, marked by numerous corporate turnarounds and strategic shifts, not only defined his legendary career but also symbolized a significant chapter in Taiwan's technological development. His death signifies the closing of an era for the island's influential semiconductor landscape.

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Next year, we will definitely pay dividends.