Panasonic Industry to invest ¥92 billion in AI-related capacity

The largest share, about JPY 67 billion (about EUR 379 million), goes to the company’s MEGTRON multilayer circuit board materials, which are used for high-speed data transmission in AI servers and network equipment, according to a press release from Panasonic Industry. The company will build second-phase buildings at its plants in Suzhou, China, and Ayutthaya, Thailand. Both sites already have first-phase plants under way. Suzhou’s is scheduled to start mass production in December 2026, and Ayutthaya’s to begin operations in November 2027.

In Suzhou, Panasonic Industry will invest about JPY 30 billion in a new building, due to start operations in August 2028. Together with the first phase, it will have a total floor area of about 46,000 square metres. In Ayutthaya, the company will invest about JPY 37 billion in a building of about 36,000 square metres, due to open in April 2029. The two plants supply the PCB markets in China and Southeast Asia respectively, and will form part of a network of five MEGTRON sites, alongside Koriyama in Japan, Guangzhou and Taiwan.

Another JPY 17 billion will go to SP-Cap conductive polymer aluminium electrolytic capacitors, which are increasingly used in the power circuits for GPUs in AI servers. The investment covers the plants in Uji, Kyoto, Japan, and Batam, Indonesia. In Batam, the company will build a new five-storey manufacturing building of about 50,000 square metres. Construction starts in May 2027 and operations are scheduled to begin in April 2029.

The remaining JPY 8 billion will fund a new R&D building at the Yokkaichi South plant in Mie, Japan, for materials used in semiconductor packaging. As AI chips grow larger and chiplet architectures spread, Panasonic Industry wants to shorten the time from development to evaluation and work more closely with customers.