# Covington glass substrate plant by Absolics

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/computing/covington-glass-substrates
Frontier: [Computing](https://technooptimist.io/computing.md) · Field: Advanced packaging · Company: [Absolics](https://technooptimist.io/companies/absolics.md)
Stage: Pilot (3 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling)
Updated: last update 2026-08-20, facts checked 2026-10-11
Goal: Replace the resin boards under AI chip packages with glass, which stays flat as packages grow and carries denser, lower-loss wiring, so bigger multi-chip AI processors can be built reliably.
Status: Plant built; samples in customer reliability testing, volume production now expected in 2027.
Next milestone: Pass customer reliability tests, target 2026

## Milestones

| Status | Milestone | Date | Slip |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Done | Groundbreaking in Covington, Georgia | 1 Nov 2022 |   |
| Done | CHIPS Act terms: up to $75M | 23 May 2024 |   |
| Done | Evaluation samples to global customers | Apr 2026 |   |
| Done | Embedded samples enter reliability evaluation | Jul 2026 |   |
| Current | Pass customer reliability tests | 2026 |   |
| Planned | Full-scale production | 2027 | +36 mo (originally 2024) |

## Upcoming events

- **2026**: Pass customer reliability tests
- **2027**: Full-scale production (slipped 36 mo)

## Most important updates

- **20 Aug 2026**: Absolics launches a ₩401.1B rights issue to fund customer qualification and yield. Absolics will raise ₩401.1B from its shareholders, SKC (70.05%) and Applied Materials (29.95%), for glass substrate evaluation, customer certification and equipment upgrades to raise yield. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/absolics-launches-a-401-1b-rights-issue-to-fund-customer-qualification-df5b6ab7.md) · [original source](https://www.digitaltoday.co.kr/en/view/95352/absolics-decides-rights-issue-worth-4011-billion-won-to-commercialise-glass-substrates))
- **24 Jul 2026**: SKC targets full-scale glass substrate production in 2027 after customer requirements change. SKC's goal of the world's first commercial glass substrate production by end-2026 slipped, which Business Post attributed to changing customer requirements. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/skc-targets-full-scale-glass-substrate-production-in-2027-after-18411ffd.md) · [original source](https://www.trendforce.com/news/?p=61380))
- **14 Jun 2026**: Glass substrates still short of mass production as Absolics' timeline slips again. Absolics first targeted mass production in 2024, then 2025, then customer approval in early 2026; SKC's latest filing gave no production date. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/glass-substrates-still-short-of-mass-production-as-absolics-timeline-e5e114c9.md) · [original source](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10771160))
- **23 May 2024**: Absolics agrees terms for up to $75M in CHIPS Act funding for its Georgia glass substrate plant. The US Commerce Department signed preliminary terms to give Absolics up to $75M under the CHIPS and Science Act for a 120,000 sq ft glass substrate facility in Covington, Georgia. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/absolics-agrees-terms-for-up-to-75m-in-chips-act-funding-for-its-14595496.md) · [original source](https://www.eenewseurope.com/en/absolics-awarded-us75-million-chips-funds-for-glass-substrates/))

## Current obstacles

- **Reliability qualification**: Customers must see packages survive heat cycling and stress testing; Absolics has repeatedly slipped as requirements changed.
- **Rivals close behind**: Samsung Electro-Mechanics (with Sumitomo Chemical) targets production in H2 2027; LG Innotek targets 2028.

## Physics limits

- **Glass is brittle**: Unlike resin, glass fractures instead of bending. Micro-cracks from drilling or cutting can spread under heat cycling, so every edge and hole must be near-flawless.

## How it works

### Problem: Resin boards warp

AI packages now hold several chips and memory stacks on one board. Resin boards bend as they grow and heat up, breaking tiny joints.

### Glass: A flat, stable core

Glass stays flatter and more stable under heat and stress, so finer wiring can be printed and chips stay attached across a larger area.

### Vias: Holes through the glass

Holes are drilled through the glass and plated with copper to carry power and signals between the chips above and the board below.

### Embedding: Parts inside the core

Capacitors embedded in the glass sit right under the chips, smoothing power and making the whole package thinner.

## Spec sheet

| Spec | Covington glass substrate plant | Provenance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CHIPS Act award | Up to $75M | reported |
| CHIPS-funded facility | 120,000 sq ft | reported |
| Expected capital spending (CHIPS) | $343M | reported |
| Package height, embedded design | 1.8 mm (vs 3.9 mm) | reported |
| Process steps | About 190 | reported |
| Rights issue (Aug 2026) | ₩401.1B | reported |

Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure.

## About Absolics

Absolics, owned by Korea's SKC (70%) and Applied Materials (30%), has built the first dedicated factory for glass chip-package substrates, in Covington, Georgia. Glass would replace the warping resin boards under today's large AI chips.

- Covington, Georgia plant built; embedded-glass samples in reliability testing in Taiwan as of July 2026.
- Mass production has slipped from 2024 to 2027; SKC no longer gives a firm date.
- Raising ₩401.1B (Aug 2026) for customer qualification and yield; CHIPS Act award up to $75M.

- Headquarters: US
- Status: subsidiary (SKC)
- Partners, customers, investors: SKC (investor); Applied Materials (investor); US Department of Commerce (CHIPS) (partner)

Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/absolics.md

## Related programs

Everything in Computing: https://technooptimist.io/computing.md

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