2026年 AI 在 PCB 制造中的应用调研报告：从试点到规模化

AIinPCBManufacturing:

FromPilotstoScale

AglobalbenchmarkofwhereAIisactuallyrunningtoday-andwhatittakestoscale.

April2026

ResearchOverview

Objectives

•EvaluateAIadoptionstatusinPCBmanufacturing

•AssessbusinessvaluefromAIapplications

•Identifyscalablepathwaysandcriticalenablers

•Understandinvestmenttrendsandindustrycollaborationneeds

Scope

•Industry:PrintedCircuitBoard(PCB)Manufacturing

•Geography:Global,withfocusonChineseMainland,TaiwanRegion,SoutheastAsia,NorthAmerica,andEurope

•Timeline:January–April2026

Methodology

•Quantitativesurvey:111respondents

•Qualitativeinterviews:6anonymousexecutives

GlobalElectronicsAssociation

2

KeyFindings

IfAIismainstream,whyisimpactstilluneven?

AIhascrossedtheusethreshold,butproductiondeploymentandvaluerealizationremainuneven.

81%

Increasinginvestment

32%

Notyetinproduction

41%

Noclearvalueyet

68%

UsingAItoday

Thecentralquestion:whatseparates“usingAI”from“scalingAI”—andwhycompaniesarestillinvestingthroughthefriction.

Base:TotalResponses(N=111)

Q7.IsAIcurrentlyusedinyourcompany’sPCBmanufacturingordailyoperations?/Q8.InwhichareasisAIcurrentlyrunninginactualproduction?Selectupto4./Q10.Todate,whatvaluehasAIprimarilydeliveredinyourcompany’sPCBmanufacturing?Selectupto3./Q.17.Comparedwiththepasttwoyears,howdoyouexpectAI-relatedinvestmentinPCBmanufacturingtochangeoverthenext2-3years?

4

Adoptionisreal;

maturityisuneven

Mostfirmshavestarted.FewhaveturnedAIintoarepeatablemanufacturingcapability.

Theindustryisstillatthe“assistedintelligence”

phase,not“autonomousmanufacturing.”

6

Theindustryhasstarted-manyarestillearlyadoption

Adoptionisbroad,butmostusageisstillconfinedtoafewareas.

Spotlight:68%use;19%plantouse

•Morethantwo-thirds(68%)ofcompaniesarecurrentlyusingAIinPCBmanufacturing,withoneinseven(14%)reportinguseacrossmultipleareas.

•Notably,one-fifth(19%)ofcompaniesarenotyetusingAIbuthaveplansforfutureadoption,signalingcontinuedgrowthahead.

•Amongcurrentusers,adoptionremainsearly-stage,with40%reportinguseinonlyafewareasand14%stillinpilotphases,indicatingsubstantialopportunityforexpansion.

UseofAIinPCBManufacturing

“Overall,AIisstillinapartialapplicationstage,whichhasnotyetcoveredtheentire

manufacturingprocess.”

“Themanufacturingprocessincludesapproximately100processsteps,whileAI

applicationscurrentlycoveronlypartofthesesteps.”

PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s)

Total

Mainland

China

(A)

Taiwan

Region

(B)

Southeast

Asia

(C)

Europe

(D)

North

America

(E)

Other

Region(s)

(F)

USENET

68%

72%

68%

89%

58%

62%

83%

Yes,usedacrossmultipleareas

Yes,usedinafewareasonly

14%

40%

14%

41%

10%

39%

17%

50%

17%

25%

14%

38%

17%

50%

Stillinpilot/PoCstage

14%

17%

19%

22%

17%

10%

17%

Notyetused,butalreadyplanned

19%

16%

13%

11%

25%

19%

17%

Notyetconsidered

14%

12%

19%

0%

17%

19%

0%

A/B/C/D/E/FStatisticallysignificantat90%confidenceinterval

Base:TotalResponses(N=111);PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s):MainlandChina(N=76),TaiwanRegion(N=31*),SoutheastAsia(N=18*),Europe(N=12*),NorthAmerica(N=21*),OtherRegion(s)(N=6*)Q7.IsAIcurrentlyusedinyourcompany’sPCBmanufacturingordailyoperations?

*Caution:SmallBase

7

Scaleisthere–butit’sstilltheexception

Mostfirmsarein“pilot”or“afewstablescenarios,”notfullyintegratedscale.

Spotlight:8%scaled&integrated

•AImaturityremainsearly-stage,withonly8%reportingAIfullyintegratedintomanufacturingsystems.

•Mostcompaniesareinpre-scalestagesofmaturity,with30%runningAIinalimitedsetofwell-definedscenariosand26%stillinpilotorexperimentalphases.

•Thisearly-stagematurityisalsoevidentinmeaningfulsharesreportingeitherlimitedimpact(17%)orAInotyetinitiated(19%),withNorthAmericasignificantlymorelikelytoreportlimitedpracticalimpact(33%).

“Itisextremelydifficultto

achievefull-processintegrationinonestep,especiallygiventhecomplexityofPCBprocesses

andthediversityofproductsandprocessroutes.”

OverallMaturityofAIinManufacturingToday

PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s)

Total

Mainland

China

(A)

Taiwan

Region

(B)

Southeast

Asia

(C)

Europe

(D)

North

America

(E)

Other

Region(s)

(F)

Scaledandintegratedintomanufacturingsystems

8%

11%

10%

17%

8%

5%

33%

Runningstablyinafewwell-definedscenarios

30%

34%

35%

33%

8%

14%

17%

Primarilypilotorexperimental

26%

29%

19%

33%

58%

33%

17%

Limitedpracticalimpactsofar

17%

8%

13%

17%

8%

33%A

17%

AIapplicationsnotyetinitiated

19%

18%

23%

0%

17%

14%

17%

A/B/C/D/E/FStatisticallysignificantat90%confidenceinterval

Base:TotalResponses(N=111);PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s):MainlandChina(N=76),TaiwanRegion(N=31*),SoutheastAsia(N=18*),Europe(N=12*),NorthAmerica(N=21*),OtherRegion(s)(N=6*)Q11.HowwouldyouratetheoverallmaturityofAIinmanufacturingtoday?

*Caution:SmallBase

“UsingAI”vs

“runningAIinproduction”

ProductioninAIisreal-butwithfewfootholdsstill.

“PCBmanufacturinginvolves~100processsteps,butAIcoversonlyaportiontoday..”

9

ProductionAIisuse-casedriven,notfactory-wide

AIshowsupfirstwhereoutcomesaremeasurableandriskcanbecontained.

Spotlight:Process(34%),Quality/RCA(34%),Engineering/CAM(30%)–32%notyetinproduction

•AIinproductionisfragmented,centeredonprocesscontrol(34%),quality(34%),andengineering(30%).Thisdispersionindicatescompaniesareprioritizingtargeted,use-case-specificapplicationsoverbroad,standardizeddeployment.

•Productionusecasesareconcentratedinoperationalefficiencyareas(e.g.,processcontrol,quality),withmoreadvancedorcross-functionalapplicationslessprevalent.

•NorthAmericansiteslaginproductiondeployment,withsignificantlyhighersharesreportingAInotyetrunningversusMainlandChinaandSoutheastAsia.

“AIapplicationswillinevitablyevolvefrompoint-based

optimizationtowardsystem-levelanddecision-level

applications.Thisevolutionpathcanbeunderstoodasexpandingfrompoint

applicationstolinear

connections,andultimately,tosystem-levelintegrationacrossabroaderscope.”

AreasinWhichAIisRunninginActualProduction

PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s)

Total

Mainland

China

(A)

Taiwan

Region

(B)

Southeast

Asia

(C)

Europe

(D)

North

America

(E)

Other

Region(s)

(F)

Processcontrolorparameteroptimization

34%

39%

26%

50%

25%

33%

50%

Qualityinspectionorrootcauseanalysis

34%

38%

42%

39%

25%

14%

50%

ProductEngineering/CAMsupport

30%

34%

26%

44%

50%

38%

50%

Productionplanning

27%

30%

32%

39%

42%

24%

33%

Equipmentmonitoring/predictivemaintenance

24%

28%

26%

39%

33%

29%

17%

Yieldmanagement

14%

16%

16%

22%

0%

0%

17%

Energymanagementorcostoptimization

13%

14%

16%

6%

8%

5%

17%

Notyetrunninginactualproduction

32%

26%

29%

6%

25%

57%AC

17%

A/B/C/D/E/FStatisticallysignificantat90%confidenceinterval

Base:TotalResponses(N=111);PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s):MainlandChina(N=76),TaiwanRegion(N=31*),SoutheastAsia(N=18*),Europe(N=12*),NorthAmerica(N=21*),OtherRegion(s)(N=6*)Q8.InwhichareasisAIcurrentlyrunninginactualproduction?Selectupto4.

*Caution:SmallBase

10

Whyinspectionbecomesthefirstscalablefoothold

Acommonpattern:AIreducesnoise,whilehumansdecideedgecases.

Thatmakesdeploymentsaferandvalueeasiertocaptureearly.

HumanReview

ConfirmsedgecasesOverrideswhenneeded

Disposition

Release

Reinspect

EscalateRCA

AIFilter

FlagslikelydefectsFiltersfalsecalls

“Humaninvolvementisstillrequiredforfinalverificationandadjustment.”

Earlyvalueappearswhereoutcomesaremeasurable,theriskcanbecontained,andhumansremainintheloop.

WhatAIdoestoday—

andwhyvaluelookslikeitdoes

MostAIisstill“see+stabilize,”not“decide.”

Theindustryisstillatthe“assistedintelligence”

phase,not“autonomousmanufacturing.”

12

AIismostlyaugmentingdecisions,notautomatingthem

Thedominantmodeisinsightandstabilityimprovement.

Automationexists—butit’snotyetthenorm.

•Approximatelyhalf(48%)ofcompaniesuseAIforvisualizationandinsights,withfewerapplyingittodecision-making(20%)orautomation(10%).Thispatternreinforcesafocusontargeted,lower-riskapplications,consistentwithfragmenteddeploymentacrossusecases.

•Beyondinsights,AIisalsobeingappliedtooperationalimprovements(e.g.,stability/variationreductionat29%),signalingearlymovementtowardmeasurableprocessimpact.

•One-third(33%)reportitisstilldifficulttoassessAI’srole,indicatingcontinueduncertaintyinhowAIisbeingapplied.

TasksSupportedbyAI

PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s)

Total

Mainland

China

(A)

TaiwanRegion

(B)

Southeast

Asia

(C)

Europe

(D)

NorthAmerica

(E)

Other

Region(s)

(F)

Visualizationandinsights(patternrecognition,trendanalysis,anomalydetection)

Stabilityimprovement(reducedvariation,earlywarning)

48%

29%

55%

34%

45%

26%

72%

33%

50%

25%

38%

19%

50%

67%

Decisionsupport(recommendations,scenarioanalysis)

20%

20%

13%

17%

33%

29%

17%

Automateddecision-making

10%

12%

10%

17%

8%

0%

17%

Difficulttoassessatthisstage

33%

28%

39%

17%

33%

48%

17%

A/B/C/D/E/FStatisticallysignificantat90%confidenceinterval

Base:TotalResponses(N=111);PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s):MainlandChina(N=76),TaiwanRegion(N=31*),SoutheastAsia(N=18*),Europe(N=12*),NorthAmerica(N=21*),OtherRegion(s)(N=6*)

Q9.WhattypesoftasksdoesAIprimarilysupporttoday?Selectupto2.

*Caution:SmallBase

13

Valueappearsfirstinfundamentals—andmanyarestillearly

Wherevalueisclear,it’squality,stability,andcost.

Butalargeminoritystillreport“tooearly/unclearvalue.”

•AIdeliversvalueprimarilythroughimprovedqualityconsistency(35%),followedbyprocessstability(26%)andreducedoperatingcosts(24%).

•Valuerealizationremainsuneven,with41%reportingnoclearvalueobservedtodate—risingto62%inNorthAmerica.

•Moreadvancedorstrategicbenefits(e.g.,speed,engineeringagility,NPIacceleration)arelesscommonlyrealized,suggestingAIimpactremainsconcentratedinfoundationalimprovements.

•Regionaldifferencesareevident,withOtherRegion(s)significantlymorelikelytocitereducedoperatingcosts(67%),whileSoutheastAsiaismorelikelytoreportshortenedNPIcycles(17%).

“Approximately60%offalsealarmscanbeautomaticallyidentifiedbyAI.Onlythe

remainingportionrequires

manualverification.This

significantlyreducesmanualworkload.”

“Morethan90%ofinvalidorincorrectdetectionscanbe

filteredout.Manualworkloadissignificantlyreduced,andprocessingefficiencyis

substantiallyimproved.”

ValueDeliveredbyAI

PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s)

Total

Mainland

China

(A)

Taiwan

Region

(B)

Southeast

Asia

(C)

Europe

(D)

North

America

(E)

Other

Region(s)

(F)

Improvedqualityconsistency/reduceddefect-relatedworkload

35%

45%

29%

39%

25%

29%

33%

Improvedprocessstability/reducedvariation

26%

30%

16%

33%

17%

14%

33%

Reducedoperatingcosts(scrap,rework,labor,energy,etc.)

24%

30%

19%

33%

25%

14%

67%BE

Increasedequipmentutilization/reducedunplanneddowntime

16%

20%

13%

28%

33%

19%

17%

Improvedcycletimeordeliveryperformance

9%

9%

10%

22%

25%

5%

0%

Enabledfasterengineeringchangeovers

8%

7%

19%

0%

8%

5%

17%

ShortenedNewProductIntroduction(NPI)cycles

5%

4%

3%

17%A

8%

5%

0%

Noclearvalueobservedyet/Stillatanearlystage,difficulttoassess

41%

32%

42%

17%

42%

62%AC

17%

A/B/C/D/E/FStatisticallysignificantat90%confidenceinterval

Base:TotalResponses(N=111);PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s):MainlandChina(N=76),TaiwanRegion(N=31*),SoutheastAsia(N=18*),Europe(N=12*),NorthAmerica(N=21*),OtherRegion(s)(N=6*)Q10.Todate,whatvaluehasAIprimarilydeliveredinyourcompany’sPCBmanufacturing?Selectupto3.

*Caution:SmallBase

14

Whenitworks,itlookslikefewerloops—notmagic

100suspectedpoints→~10forhumanreview

Arepresentativepattern:fewerfalsecallsleadtolessreinspectionandfasterroot-causeanalysis.

-30-40%

Reinspection

6h一2h

RCATime

+2-3%

Yield

“Reducedfalsealarmsleadtofewerreprocessingcycles,whichimprovesequipmentutilization.”

Operationally,thepatternisstraightforward:AIfiltersfalsepositives,collapsesmanual

revieweffort,andshortenstheloopondiagnosisandcorrectiveaction.Theearlyvalueisnotmagic—itisfewerloops,betterconsistency,andfasterintervention.

Ifusecasesareknown,

whyisscalestillhard?

Thebottleneckisnotimagination.Itisscalingreadiness:data,integration,governance,

andcapability.

“Thebiggestchallengeisnotalgorithms,itisthelackofhigh-quality,standardizeddata..”

16

Theobstaclesclusterinfoundations,notuse-caseideas

Thesamefewblockersshowuprepeatedly:dataquality,talent,problemdefinition,integration,ownership.

•AIscalingisconstrainedbyinsufficientdataquality(37%)andtalentgaps(36%),alongsidechallengesinproblemdefinition(33%),cross-systemintegration(32%),andgovernance/ownership(31%).

•Barriersareprimarilyfoundational,pointingtogapsindatareadinessandworkforcecapabilityratherthanmorenarrowlycitedmodelorROI-relatedchallenges.

•Challengesspanthefulllifecycle—fromdefiningproblemstointegratingacrosssystemsandestablishinggovernance—highlightingthecomplexityofscalingAIend-to-end.

FactorsConstrainingFurtherAIScaling

“Fromanoverallindustry

perspective,thereiscurrentlynounifiedandsystematicindustry-widedatastandardsystemfor

datainteroperabilityandsystemintegration.”

“ThePCBindustrylacksa

unifieddevicecommunication

protocol.Differentdeviceshavesignificantlydifferentdata

formatsandupdatefrequencies,andsomedevicesareeven

unabletocommunicateorreceivecontrolcommands.”

•InEurope,model/algorithmlimitations(33%)arecitedmorefrequently,indicatinggreaterconcernaroundtechnicalperformanceintheregion.

PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s)

Total

Mainland

China

(A)

Taiwan

Region

(B)

Southeast

Asia

(C)

Europe

(D)

North

America

(E)

Other

Region(s)

(F)

Insufficientdataqualityorconsistency

37%

45%

32%

33%

25%

24%

67%

Insufficientcapabilitiesortalent

36%

37%

61%

50%

33%

38%

17%

Unclearorunstableproblemdefinition

33%

34%

29%

33%

42%

24%

67%

Cross-systemintegrationchallenges

32%

37%

32%

50%

33%

29%

33%

Lackofcleargovernanceorownership

31%

34%

23%

28%

42%

29%

17%

DifficultyquantifyingROI

21%

18%

13%

11%

8%

19%

17%

Limitationsofmodelsoralgorithmsthemselves

20%

17%

13%

33%

33%A

19%

0%

A/B/C/D/E/FStatisticallysignificantat90%confidenceinterval

Base:TotalResponses(N=111);PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s):MainlandChina(N=76),TaiwanRegion(N=31*),SoutheastAsia(N=18*),Europe(N=12*),NorthAmerica(N=21*),OtherRegion(s)(N=6*)Q16.WhatarethemainfactorsconstrainingfurtherAIscalingtoday?Selectupto3.

*Caution:SmallBase

17

Why“>90%accuracy”canstillfailonthefactoryfloor

Manufacturingneeds“trustworthy,”not“goodonaverage.”

Unobservedvariablesandshiftingconditionscanbreakoperationaltrust,evenwhenmodelperformanceappearsstrongonpaper.

“Evenifamodelachievesafittingaccuracyofover90%,itisstilldifficulttoreacha

levelthatisconsideredusableandtrustworthyinanindustrialproduction

environment.”

“Inmanufacturing,ifaproblemrequirestenconditionstobesatisfied,missingjustonemeansfailure.”

Theproductionquestionisnotsimplywhetheramodelisaccurate.Itiswhetherthesystemremainsin-bounds,explainable,andgovernableasconditionschange.

18

Scalingisintegrationwork

Pointtoolsprovevalue;integrationturnsvalueintocapability.

Manyfirmsarestill“figuringoutwhereAIlives.”

•AIdeploymentmostcommonlyinvolvesintegrationintoMES/SPC/manufacturingsystems(33%),indicatingprogresstowardembeddingAIdirectlywithincoreproductionworkflows.

•Atthesametime,deploymentmodelsremainunsettled,reinforcingearlierfindingsofuncertaintyinhowbesttoscaleandoperationalizeAI.

•Regionaldifferencesarepronounced,withSoutheastAsiasignificantlymorelikelytointegrateAIintocoresystems(67%),whileNorthAmerica(48%),Europe(42%),andTaiwanRegion(35%)aresignificantlymorelikelytoreportdeploymentmodelsstillevolving.

DeploymentofAIApplications

PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s)

Total

Mainland

China

(A)

TaiwanRegion

(B)

Southeast

Asia

(C)

Europe

(D)

NorthAmerica

(E)

Other

Region(s)

(F)

IntegratedintoMES/SPC/manufacturingsystems

33%

38%

26%

67%ABE

42%

29%

67%

Standalonetoolsorapplications

26%

29%

16%

28%

33%

24%

33%

Cloud-basedplatforms

25%

29%

39%

22%

8%

14%

33%

Embeddedwithinequipmentorsuppliersystems

19%

21%

16%

33%

8%

14%

0%

Deploymentmodelstillevolving

32%

26%

35%C

11%

42%C

48%AC

17%

A/B/C/D/E/FStatisticallysignificantat90%confidenceinterval

Base:TotalResponses(N=111);PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s):MainlandChina(N=76),TaiwanRegion(N=31*),SoutheastAsia(N=18*),Europe(N=12*),NorthAmerica(N=21*),OtherRegion(s)(N=6*)

Q15.HowareAIapplicationstypicallydeployedtoday?Selectupto2.

*Caution:SmallBase

19

Scalingisalsoanoperatingmodelproblem

AIisoftenIT-led—butproductionoutcomesrequireIT+operationsownership.

“Noclearowner”isapredictablescalingfailuremode.

•AIleadershipisprimarilyIT-led(41%),reflectingatechnology-drivenapproachtoimplementation.

•Business-ledownership(e.g.,manufacturing,operations,quality)remainslimited;however,EuropeismorelikelytoreportleadershipfromOperations/Planning(8%)andQuality(8%),suggestingamoreoperationallyembeddedapproach.

•Ownershipremainsunclearforanotableshareofcompanies(23%),withhigherlevelsinNorthAmerica(33%)andEurope(25%),reinforcingbroaderuncertaintyinhowAIisstructuredandscaled.

AIFunctionalLeadership

PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s)

Total

Mainland

China

(A)

TaiwanRegion

(B)

Southeast

Asia

(C)

Europe

(D)

NorthAmerica

(E)

Other

Region(s)

(F)

IT/Digitalization

41%

53%

35%

67%

58%

38%

50%

Corporateorfactorymanagement

18%

17%

16%

17%

0%

14%

33%

Manufacturing/Processengineering

13%

9%

16%

11%

0%

10%

0%

Operations/Planning

4%

1%

6%

6%

8%A

5%

0%

Quality

2%

0%

3%

0%

8%A

0%

0%

Noclearowneryet

23%

20%

23%

0%

25%C

33%C

17%

A/B/C/D/E/FStatisticallysignificantat90%confidenceinterval

Base:TotalResponses(N=111);PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s):MainlandChina(N=76),TaiwanRegion(N=31*),SoutheastAsia(N=18*),Europe(N=12*),NorthAmerica(N=21*),OtherRegion(s)(N=6*)

Q13.WhichfunctiontypicallyleadsAIinitiativesinyourcompany?

*Caution:SmallBase

20

Mostcompaniesscalethroughhybrids—

andmanyarestillexploring

Hybridmodelsdominatebecausetheybalancespeedwithcapabilitybuilding.

Explorationremainshighbecausetheplaybookisstillforming.

•Whilehybridimplementationmodelsdominate(35%),manyremaininearlyexploration(32%).Theprevalenceofhybridmodelssuggestscompaniesarebalancinginternalcapability-buildingwithrelianceonexternalexpertisetoadvanceAIinitiatives.

•Purelyinternal(14%)andpurelyexternal(12%)approachesarelesscommon,indicatingneitherapproachissufficientonitsown.

•Nosingleimplementationapproachdominates,reflectingongoinguncertaintyaroundhowbesttoscaleAI;NorthAmericaissignificantlymorelikelytostillbeinexploration(43%),whileEuropeismorelikelytorelyonequipmentsuppliersorsystemintegrators(17%).

“Relyingsolelyondigitalizationdepartments,orpureAI

algorithmspecialists

todirectlydriveimplementationinmanufacturingscenariosishighlydifficult.”

AIImplementation

PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s)

Total

Mainland

China

(A)

Taiwan

Region

(B)

Southeast

Asia

(C)

Europe

(D)

North

America

(E)

Other

Region(s)

(F)

Hybridmodelcombininginternalteamsandexternalpartners

35%

38%

42%

56%

25%

29%

67%

Primarilydevelopedin-housebyinternalteams

14%

14%

13%

17%

25%

24%

0%

Primarilyreliantonexternalvendors/solutionproviders

12%

14%

10%

17%

0%

0%

17%

Primarilydrivenbyequipmentsuppliersorsystemintegrators

6%

4%

3%

0%

17%A

5%

0%

Stillinexploration,notyetclear

32%

29%

32%

11%

33%

43%C

17%

A/B/C/D/E/FStatisticallysignificantat90%confidenceinterval

Base:TotalResponses(N=111);PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s):MainlandChina(N=76),TaiwanRegion(N=31*),SoutheastAsia(N=18*),Europe(N=12*),NorthAmerica(N=21*),OtherRegion(s)(N=6*)Q12.HowisAIprimarilyimplementedinyourcompanytoday?

*Caution:SmallBase

21

Theriskprofilemirrorstheconstraintprofile

Whatcouldderailthenextwaveofinvestment?

Datafoundation,maturity,andintegration.

•FutureAIinvestmentismostatriskfromdatareadiness(36%),technologymaturity(35%),andintegrationchallenges(34%).

•Riskisconcentratedinfoundationalcapabilities,highlightingtheneedtostrengthencoresystemsandinfrastructuretoenableAIscaling.

•Talentgaps(29%)andgovernance/accountability(19%)pointtoorganizationalreadinesschallenges,thoughtheseremainsecondarytomorefoundationalsystemanddataconstraints.

•LowerconcernaroundROImeasurement(14%)suggestsorganizationsaremorefocusedonimplementingandoperationalizingAIthanonprovingitsvalueupfront.

RisksofFutureAIInvestment

PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s)

Total

Mainland

China

(A)

TaiwanRegion

(B)

Southeast

Asia

(C)

Europe

(D)

NorthAmerica

(E)

Other

Region(s)

(F)

Datafoundationnotyetready

36%

39%

32%

33%

25%

43%

33%

Insufficienttechnologymaturity

35%

43%

35%

39%

25%

29%

17%

Systemintegrationchallenges

34%

36%

26%

39%

50%

33%

50%

Talentandcapabilitygaps

29%

30%

39%

22%

25%

10%

17%

Uncleargovernanceoraccountability

19%

16%

16%

33%

42%

33%

17%

DifficultymeasuringROI

14%

16%

3%

0%

0%

10%

17%

A/B/C/D/E/FStatisticallysignificantat90%confidenceinterval

Base:TotalResponses(N=111);PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s):MainlandChina(N=76),TaiwanRegion(N=31*),SoutheastAsia(N=18*),Europe(N=12*),NorthAmerica(N=21*),OtherRegion(s)(N=6*)

Q20.WhatdoyouseeasthemainrisksoffutureAIinvestment?Selectupto2.

*Caution:SmallBase

22

CoreManufacturingandDataChallengesAreWidelySharedAcross

Companies,CreatingaStrongFoundationforCollaboration

•Processvariation/control(61%)andequipmentstability(59%)areseenashighlysimilarchallengesacrosscompanies,indicatingcommonoperationalpainpoints.

•Datastructureandavailability(53%)arealsowidelyshared,reinforcingearlierfindingsarounddatareadinessasafoundationalconstraint.

•EvenreasonsforAIprojectfailureshowmeaningfulalignment(45%),suggestingopportunitiestosharelearningsandbestpracticesacrossorganizations.

SimilarityofChallengesAcrossDifferentPCBCompanies

--%Top2Box--

PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s)

Total

Mainland

China

(A)

Taiwan

(B)

Southeast

Asia

(C)

Europe

(D)

North

America

(E)

Other

Region(s)

(F)

Processvariationandcontrol

61%

59%

71%

67%

33%

48%

83%

Equipment-relatedstabilityissues

59%

57%

71%

61%

42%

48%

83%

Datastructureandavailability

53%

49%

61%

56%

33%

43%

83%

ReasonsforAIprojectfailure

45%

41%

52%

39%

42%

52%

50%

A/B/C/D/E/FStatisticallysignificantat90%confidenceinterval

Base:TotalResponses(N=111);PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s):MainlandChina(N=76),Taiwan(N=31*),SoutheastAsia(N=18*),Europe(N=12*),NorthAmerica(N=21*),OtherRegion(s)(N=6*)

Q21.Basedonyourexperience,howsimilararethefollowingchallengesacrossdifferentPCBcompanies?

*Caution:SmallBase

23

FutureAIInvestmentWillPrioritizeOperationalImprovements—Ledby

ProcessStability(52%),withStrongFocusonPlanningandQuality(41%Each)

•Investmentisconcentratedinefficiency-drivenareas,signalingafocusonoptimizingexistingproductionprocesses.

•Thisemphasisonoperationalapplicationssuggestscompaniesareprioritizingproven,high-impactusecasesovernewerormoreadvancedareas.

•NorthAmericastandsoutwithsignificantlyhigherfocusonproductengineering/CAMsupport(67%),indicatingamoreengineering-driveninvestmentapproachintheregion.

AreasMostLikelytoSeeIncreasedAIInvestment

PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s)

Total

Mainland

China

(A)

Taiwan

(B)

Southeast

Asia

(C)

Europe

(D)

North

America

(E)

Other

Region(s)

(F)

Processstabilityandoptimization

52%

55%

58%

72%

58%

38%

67%

Productionplanningandoperations

41%

38%

45%

50%

33%

48%

50%

Qualityinspectionandanalysis

41%

46%

35%

44%

17%

24%

33%

ProductEngineering/CAMsupport

31%

26%

29%

33%

42%

67%ABC

17%

Equipmentreliabilityandmaintenance

23%

24%

23%

39%

42%

29%

33%

Energyandcostmanagement

19%

24%

16%

17%

8%

0%

17%

ITordatainfrastructure

19%

24%

13%

17%

17%

24%

17%

Noclearfocusyet

14%

11%

16%

6%

17%

14%

17%

A/B/C/D/E/FStatisticallysignificantat90%confidenceinterval

Base:TotalResponses(N=111);PrimaryPCBManufacturingSiteLocation(s):MainlandChina(N=76),Taiwan(N=31*),SoutheastAsia(N=18*),Europe(N=12*),NorthAmerica(N=21*),OtherRegion(s)(N=6*)

Q18.WhichareasaremostlikelytoseeincreasedAIinvestment?Selectupto3.

*Caution:SmallBase

24

Investmentisaccelerating.Alignmentreducesfrictiontoscale

Thenextwaveisscaling,notexperimentin