Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited the company’s Advanced Package Lab in Yokohama, Japan, on Nov. 1 to review research on advanced semiconductor materials and process technologies and discuss cooperation with Japanese suppliers. Samsung opened the facility in September after establishing it in 2023 and preparing it for two years as a global research and development hub for AI chip packaging. The company plans to invest 350 billion won, or US$262 million, through 2028. The lab employs more than 100 researchers and is studying technologies including wafer bonding and glass substrates to integrate components such as GPUs and high-bandwidth memory while improving AI systems’ power efficiency and heat management. Lee also met local executives, including Kawahira Hiroichi, Head of DS Research Japan (Vice President), and Kariya Takashi, APL Lab Head (Executive Managing Director), and emphasized that advanced packaging is essential to semiconductor competitiveness. The visit marked Samsung Electronics’ 57th anniversary and Lee’s first inspection of the facility since its opening. It followed his Oct. 27 inspection of Samsung’s robotics research hub in Seoul and a meeting between Samsung executives and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman the previous day.