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HORIBA STEC KOREA, Ltd., a HORIBA subsidiary responsible for the Group’s semiconductor business in South Korea, has acquired EtaMax Co., Ltd., a developer, manufacturer, and seller of wafer inspection system for the semiconductor market. The share transfer was completed on April 3, 2025.
The HORIBA Group aims to expand its lineup of wafer inspection system and enhance its solution-proposal capabilities by integrating spectroscopy-related technologies developed in-house over many years with EtaMax’s software technology and extensive expertise in inspecting for defects in compound semiconductor wafers. This integration will contribute to boosting yield and enhancing quality control for compound semiconductor wafers.
The increasing demand for data centers driven by the global expansion of EVs and AI is accelerating the adoption of compound semiconductors, known as next-generation power semiconductors. While compound semiconductors offer high performance and durability, loss of yield in the manufacturing process due to wafer defects remains a challenge, creating a strong demand for precise and efficient inspections.
The HORIBA Group aims to achieve sales of 235 billion yen by 2028 in the Materials & Semiconductor field—a key area of focus in the Group’s Mid-Long Term Management Plan (MLMAP2028). In pursuing such vision for this field—to shape the market with innovative solutions in the advanced materials and semiconductor field toward achieving sustainable society—it was essential to bolster R&D of compound semiconductor wafer inspection system in order to provide comprehensive analytical solutions that enhance the semiconductor manufacturing process.
EtaMax primarily develops wafer inspection system utilizing photoluminescence analysis technology. The company excels in a diverse range of applications, including assessing uniformity and identifying types of minute defects in compound semiconductor wafers.
This acquisition will allow to leverage the HORIBA Group’s extensive global network to drive business expansion. Furthermore, we the company will be able to accelerate new product development and enhance the solution-proposal capabilities by synergizing EtaMax’s software technologies with the HORIBA Group’s core technologies, such as Raman spectroscopy and ellipsometry. This will aid in boosting yield and enhancing quality control in the process of mass-producing compound semiconductor wafers.
The HORIBA Group is committed to creating new value to meet the diverse analysis and measurement needs of the customers in the semiconductor manufacturing process.
Original – HORIBA STEC KOREA
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Infineon Technologies AG bolsters its global and regional market leadership positions in automotive semiconductors, including its very strong position in microcontrollers. According to the latest market research from TechInsights, Infineon achieved a market share of 13.5 percent in the global automotive semiconductor market in 2024.
In Europe, the company climbed to the top spot with a 14.1 percent market share, up from second in 2023. Infineon also strengthened its presence in North America to the second largest market participant with a 10.4 percent share, rising from last year’s number three position. The global market share in microcontrollers rose again, to 32.0 percent, increasing the lead over the second-placed competitor by 2.7 percentage points.
Furthermore, Infineon maintained its leading market positions in the largest market for automotive semiconductors, China, with a 13.9 percent market share as well as in South Korea with a 17.7 percent market share. In Japan, the company confirmed its strong second place with a share of 13.2 percent. In total, the global automotive semiconductor market accounted for US$ 68.4 billion in 2024 – a slight decline of 1.2 percent compared to US$ 69.2 billion in 2023.
“We are the global number one in automotive semiconductors for the fifth consecutive year and we are equally successful across the world. For the first time in our history, Infineon is among the top two automotive semiconductor companies in every region,” said Peter Schaefer, Executive Vice President and Chief Sales Officer Automotive at Infineon. “This global success is a token of our strong product portfolio, outstanding customer support and our dedication to the specific needs of our customers.”
Infineon’s semiconductors are essential in driving the digitalization and decarbonization of vehicles to make them clean, safe and smart. They serve all major automotive applications such as driver assistance and safety systems, powertrain and battery management as well as comfort and infotainment features. A key focus is to support the evolution of electrical/electronic (E/E) vehicle architectures towards more centralized zonal designs as the basis for software-defined vehicles. This requires state-of-the-art connectivity and data security, smart power distribution and real-time computing power.
“It is the fifth time in a row that the ‘TechInsights Automotive Semiconductor Vendor Market Share Ranking’ confirms the Infineon lead, with microcontrollers largely contributing to this success,” said Asif Anwar, Executive Director of Automotive End Market Research at TechInsights. “Semiconductors for advanced driver assistance systems, especially SoCs and memories, were among the best performing product categories. Infineon did exceptionally well in microcontrollers used in advanced driver assistance systems and many other applications. With an increase of 3.6 percentage points to a 32.0 percent market share, Infineon has held up well in the automotive microcontroller market, which decreased by 8.2 percent year-over-year.”
Original – Infineon Technologies
