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Driven by AI Boom, TSMC to Invest $2.9 Bln in Advanced Chip Plant in Taiwan 

A smartphone with a displayed TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. (Reuters)
A smartphone with a displayed TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. (Reuters)
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Driven by AI Boom, TSMC to Invest $2.9 Bln in Advanced Chip Plant in Taiwan 

A smartphone with a displayed TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. (Reuters)
A smartphone with a displayed TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. (Reuters)

Driven by a surge in demand for artificial intelligence, Taiwanese chip maker TSMC plans to invest nearly T$90 billion ($2.87 billion) in an advanced packaging facility in northern Taiwan, the company said on Tuesday.

"To meet market needs, TSMC is planning to establish an advanced packaging fab in the Tongluo Science Park," the company said in a statement.

CEO C.C. Wei said last week that TSMC is unable to fulfil customer demand driven by the AI boom and plans to roughly double its capacity for advanced packaging - which involves placing multiple chips into a single device, lowering the added cost of more powerful computing.

For advanced packaging, especially TSMC's chip on wafer on substrate (CoWoS), capacity is "very tight," Wei said after the company reported a 23% fall in second-quarter profit.

"We are increasing our capacity as quickly as possible. We expect this tightening will be released next year, probably towards the end of next year."

The world's largest contract chipmaker said TSMC's position as the leading manufacturer of AI chips - including for chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices - has not offset broader end market weakness as the global economy recovers more slowly than it had expected.

The Tongluo Science Park administration has officially approved TSMC's application to lease land, the company said, adding the new plant in the northern county of Miaoli would create about 1500 jobs.

Even as the leading Apple supplier ramps up its expansion abroad, it plans to keep its most advanced chip technology in Taiwan, a global powerhouse in manufacturing semiconductors that power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles.

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AI Tool Aims to Help Conserve Japan’s Cherry Trees 

Formula One F1 - Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan - April 4, 2025 Red Bull's Max Verstappen is seen through cherry blossoms during practice. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan - April 4, 2025 Red Bull's Max Verstappen is seen through cherry blossoms during practice. (Reuters)
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AI Tool Aims to Help Conserve Japan’s Cherry Trees 

Formula One F1 - Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan - April 4, 2025 Red Bull's Max Verstappen is seen through cherry blossoms during practice. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan - April 4, 2025 Red Bull's Max Verstappen is seen through cherry blossoms during practice. (Reuters)

Japan's famed cherry trees are getting old, but a new AI tool that assesses photos of the delicate pink and white flowers could help preserve them for future generations.

The "sakura" season is feverishly anticipated by locals and visitors alike, with the profusion of the stunning blossoms marking the start of spring.

But many of the trees are reaching 70 to 80 years old, well beyond their prime blooming age.

This means increasing costs to tend to the trees and maintain popular flowering spots.

To help authorities identify ailing specimens, brewing giant Kirin developed a tool called Sakura AI Camera.

It tells users the condition and the age of the trees based on photos they take with their smartphones and upload them to a website.

A five-point scale -- only available in Japanese for now -- ranges from "very healthy" to "worrying".

A tree with healthy flowers blooming densely all the way to the tips of the branches gets top marks.

The artificial intelligence tool has been trained using 5,000 images of cherry trees with the help of experts.

The photos are then mapped on the Sakura AI Camera website with details such as tree condition and location.

"We heard that the preservation of sakura requires manpower and money and that it's difficult to gather information," Risa Shioda from Kirin told AFP.

"I think we can contribute by making it easier to plan for conservation," she said.

About 20,000 photos have been collected since the launch last month, with the data available online for free for local authorities.

- Worth a million -

According to Tokyo's Meguro Ward, famous for its riverbanks lined with cherry trees, replanting a new one costs around one million yen ($6,800).

Hiroyuki Wada of the Japan Tree Doctors Association, who inspects cherry trees in major spots in Tokyo, helped supervise the AI tool.

He said he hopes that it will help experts study the environmental reasons behind the degradation of some of the trees he sees.

In part, he blames climate change.

"I'm very worried. Changes in the environment are usually gradual, but now it's visible," he told AFP.

"There are impacts from the heat, and of course the lack of rainfall," he said.

"The age of the trees naturally makes the situation more serious," he added.

Japan's weather agency said in January that last year was the hottest since records began, like other nations.

Kirin began donating some of its profits for the preservation of cherry trees last year, as a way to "pay back" to the communities.

Cherry blossoms symbolize the fragility of life in Japanese culture as full blooms only last about a week before the petals start falling off trees.

The season is also considered one of change as it marks the start of the new business year, with many university graduates starting their first full-time jobs and older colleagues shifting to new positions.