Absolics raises 400B KRW to commercialise glass substrates
What's the deal? AbsolicsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the SKCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → subsidiary developing glass substrates for semiconductor packaging, is raising about 400 billion KRW (≈$289 million) through a rights offering to fund commercialisation. SKC, which owns 70.05% of Absolics, disclosed the move on August 21. Applied MaterialsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (AMAT) holds the remaining 29.95%.
Why now? The raise executes the first slice of 589.6 billion KRW that SKC earmarked for Absolics out of the 1.16 trillion KRW it raised in a May rights offering. It marks the first capital disbursement in a three-year investment plan running from 2026 to 2028.
Where the money goes: Of the 589.6 billion KRW, 472.6 billion is allocated to capital expenditure and 117 billion to operating costs. The funds will cover customer evaluation and certification of glass substrates, plus equipment upgrades to lift yield and quality at the phase-one plant, which is currently running prototype production.
How the raise works: Because Absolics is a separate legal entity, SKC uses the rights offering to transfer capital. New shares are allocated first by existing stakes, but each shareholder's actual subscription depends on its own internal process. SKC's final contribution will be disclosed separately after a board resolution.
What's the endgame? Absolics is pursuing a two-track strategy, commercialising both embedding and non-embedding glass substrates. Embedding samples produced at its US Georgia plant have cleared preliminary electrical checks and entered reliability testing; non-embedding products are in a project with supplier selection due in the second half, with proof-of-concept planned within the year should Absolics be chosen.
An SKC representative said the funding would "drive Absolics' glass substrate commercialisation without a hitch and accelerate mass-production readiness" (translated from Korean).
The signal: The disbursement signals conviction in glass substrates as a next-generation packaging technology, a bet SKC is making alongside strategic partner Applied Materials. Whether phase-two expansion follows will hinge on how customer evaluations and staged milestones play out.
Read more: The Elec
Image credit: Absolics
