Mirae Asset Global Investments is launching an exchange-traded fund focused on multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) and semiconductor substrates, two core components of artificial intelligence servers.
The asset manager said on the 19th that it will list the TIGER Global MLCC & Substrate ETF on the main board of the Korea Exchange on the 20th. The fund invests in 13 companies in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan tied to MLCCs and semiconductor substrates, targeting rising demand for core components as AI infrastructure investment expands.
Major holdings include Murata, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Unimicron, TDK, Ibiden and Yageo. MLCC and substrate companies are weighted roughly equally, with no single stock exceeding 20% of the portfolio. The fund stands out for extending beyond the Korean and Japanese companies that dominate the global MLCC market to include Taiwanese firms with a competitive position in the advanced semiconductor packaging supply chain.
MLCCs store electricity and release it when needed, keeping voltage stable. As AI servers deliver higher computing performance and consume more power, the number of capacitors required rises accordingly. Nvidia's next-generation AI server platform, Vera Rubin, is expected to carry significantly higher MLCC and substrate costs than the current Blackwell platform. Mirae Asset projects server MLCC demand will grow an average of 30% a year through 2030.
With supply constraints compounding expanding demand, both MLCC sales volumes and prices have entered a simultaneous upswing, according to the asset manager. High-performance MLCCs for AI servers require advanced manufacturing capabilities, leaving the market led by a small number of companies such as Murata and Samsung Electro-Mechanics. Leading makers are moving to expand capacity, but keeping pace with demand growth remains difficult. Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Taiwan's Yageo both raised product prices this year, a sign of upward price pressure from the supply shortfall.
Semiconductor substrates are also seen as a beneficiary of more advanced AI servers. High-performance package substrates are growing more important as chips must efficiently connect not only graphics processing units (GPUs) but also central processing units (CPUs), high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and networking chips. Flip-chip ball grid array (FC-BGA) substrates in particular are evolving toward larger surface areas and more layers as chip performance rises. Larger substrates reduce the number of units that can be produced, and when combined with complex manufacturing processes and constrained material supply, this strengthens the competitive position of companies with the necessary technology and capacity, the asset manager said.
"As AI servers advance and become more efficient, the value of MLCCs and substrates is bound to increase," said Jung Eui-hyun, head of the ETF management division at Mirae Asset Global Investments. "By including not only major Korean and Japanese companies but also key Taiwanese value-chain players such as Unimicron and Yageo, we have differentiated this fund from existing ETFs listed in Korea."