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AI Chips Push WinWay to Record Profits

Reporter Richard Brown
Release time：2026/11/09 12:52
Last update time：2026/11/09 12:52

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WinWay supplies test sockets, probe cards, and temperature-control systems for AI chips.
WinWay supplies test sockets, probe cards, and temperature-control systems for AI chip processors. (Image courtesy of Richard Brown.)

Before an AI processor ships, it has to be tested through thousands of temporary electrical contacts, at high signal speeds, and under heavy power loads. WinWay Technology, a leading supplier of the components that connect chips to testing equipment, makes those connections. As AI processors grow larger, faster, and more power-hungry, demand for its products is rising quickly.

WinWay supplies test sockets, probe cards, and temperature-control systems. Sockets make temporary electrical connections between packaged chips and testing machines, while probe cards contact chips still on wafers. These connections must transmit signals accurately and consistently so manufacturers can tell a defective chip from a problem in the testing setup.

AI is making that job harder. Larger processors need more electrical contacts, faster signals, and greater power delivery. In September, WinWay said it had more than 20 projects involving chips with over 10,000 contacts, and next-generation designs approaching 20,000. Delivery times for standard sockets have stretched from around eight weeks to 13–14 weeks. The company said socket capacity could rise by about 50% during the second and third quarters of 2027.

Heat is the other problem. Powerful chips generate a lot of it during testing, and it has to be removed to keep the chips at the required operating conditions. WinWay pairs its HyperSocket products with Heatcon Titan temperature-control equipment in a liquid-cooled testing system, extending its business beyond the electrical connection.

The demand showed up in record third-quarter results. Revenue reached NT$4.56 billion (about US$139 million), up 152.6% from a year earlier and 29.3% from the previous quarter. Net profit attributable to shareholders was a record NT$1.03 billion (US$31.5 million), with earnings per share of NT$28.55, and gross margin recovered to 41% from about 38%.

To keep up, WinWay is investing about NT$3.5 billion (US$107 million) in a new facility in Kaohsiung's Renwu district. The site is scheduled for completion at the end of 2027 and production in 2028. Until then, the socket capacity increase planned for mid-2027 will determine how much of the longer order book it can fill.

US$ conversions use an illustrative rate of NT$32.7 per US$1.